


Clexa in Cloud City (A Clexa/Star Wars AU fic)

by WitchHeda_of_Angmar86



Category: Star Wars, Star Wars - All Media Types, The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Star Wars Setting, Bespin, Bisexual Clarke Griffin, Clarke Griffin and Lexa in Love, Dom Lexa (The 100), Eventual Clarke Griffin/Lexa, F/F, Female Friendship, Female Relationships, Fluff, Lesbian Lexa (The 100), Light Dom/sub, My First Work in This Fandom, POV Clarke Griffin, POV Third Person, Pre-Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Slow Burn Clarke Griffin/Lexa, Sub Clarke Griffin, To Be Edited, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2019-05-31
Packaged: 2020-01-15 20:48:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 33,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18506809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WitchHeda_of_Angmar86/pseuds/WitchHeda_of_Angmar86
Summary: Story takes place in the Star Wars universe. Clarke Griffin attends the University of Cloud City at Bespin where she meets Lexa, a girl who comes from the planet Trigeda. And you can probably guess where this friendship eventually leads.Note: PLENTY of Star Wars references!





	1. Earlier in the year

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!  
>  The story takes place in a Star Wars alternate universe setting. 
> 
> Note: I have taken some time to build up the story first and so I just ask that you be patient as you read. I hope you all enjoy reading and I'll do my best to not make the chapters too long or too dull.
> 
>  
> 
>  

Present setting: Arcadia City, Mars

 

 Clarke Griffin arrived home from school shortly after 4. It was a pleasant afternoon with the sun hanging high in the sky. The house was empty when Clarke walked in he front door. Her mother Abigail Griffin was at work at the clinic and wouldn't be home until 6. That meant that Clarke would be fending for herself for another two hours. After throwing off her shoes, she made her way upstairs to her bedroom. She dropped her school bag on the floor next to her desk and she flung her denim jacket over her desk chair. She then unbuttoned and slid off her jeans to allow her legs to breathe. It was only when the house was empty when Clarke could walk around freely in her panties- assuming no one came to the door. She pulled out her desk chair and dropped down in it heavily.

 Using the silver holopad, she dialed in the number of her close friend and fellow classmate, Finn Collins who she went to school with at Mount Weather Secondary School. Clarke exhaled softly as she listened to the holopad chiming and waited, hoping Finn could connect. In another moment, the holopad activated and projected a blue hologram of Finn Collin's image- a cute looking guy with dark shoulder-length hair.

"Finally!" Clarke exclaimed, not bothering to hide her slight annoyance at having to wait. She was half-expecting Finn not to answer his holopad.

"Clarke!" Finn Collins said, sounding pleased to hear from her. "What's up?"

"Hey- Finn, what happened to you today?" Clarke demanded. "You were in Earth Studies this morning, but not Marsian History this afternoon. Did you skip that period?"

"I already told you, I wouldn't be at school this afternoon," Finn insisted. "I had an appointment booked so I was excused from afternoon classes."

  His tone then became sarcastically playful. "But don't worry. You already know how much I _hate_ having to miss out on Mr. Kane's history class!”

 Finn, of course, was refering to their Marsian history teacher Marcus Kane, who tended to assign frequent chapter readings to his students.

 Clarke, meanwhile, laughed. "So you'll have read up on the Lunarian Treaty chapter by next period?"

“Yeah, for sure," Finn promised with a chuckle. “I plan to get right to it."

“You better!” Clarke joked. “I heard a rumor in the hall after the final bell that Mr. Kane might have a pop quiz for us next class."

“Figures!” Finn snorted with a laugh. “That’s been his style all year- dropping pop quizes on us. They may not count for much, but seeing as the final exam will be worth a good chunk of our grade. So far my GPA is above water-which is good. "

  It was currently midway through the school year at Mount Weather Secondary.

"Cassini College is your top choice, isn't it?" Clarke asked him.

"I've already put out my application to Cassini and three other schools," Finn told her. "I'm aiming for Cassini. What about you, Clarke? Is UofA (University of Arcadia) still your pick for after you graduate?"

"It _was_ my top pick," Clarke corrected him, as she leaned back in her chair.

"Yeah?" What changed?" Finn asked, curiously.

 Clarke was silent for a moment as she decided on her words. "Finn, I've actually put in the option of going to school off-planet."

  Through the blue hologram, Finn's mouth fell open in shock. "No way! You're heading to Earth to go to school?"

 Clarke shook her head. "Not to Earth. I put out my application to the University of Cloud City, all the way out in the Bespin System."

  Finn said nothing for a moment, but Clarke could sense that he was shocked. Clarke half-expected Finn to lecture her, but instead Finn's next response was, "You have no idea how amazing, that is Clarke! I hope you get accepted there! That will be really something!"

 Clarke was relieved that Finn sounded happy for her and not annoyed, or disappointed.

"Man, you know if I could afford it, I would study abroad!" Finn said. "But wow! All the way out in the Bespin System of all places!"

"I'm kind of having some two-way feelings on this," Clarke confessed to him. "Part of me hopes that I'll be accepted there, and the other half is hoping I'll stay on Mars to attend UoA."              

"But think about this for a second!" Finn said encouragingly from the flickering blue hologram that projected his image from the small pad. "Do you realize that if you accept an offer from Cloud City, you'll be studying halfway across the galaxy?

"Hardly across the whole galaxy, Finn!" Clarke replied with a roll of her eyes. As she spoke, she got up from her desk chair and moved across to her bed. At least Finn couldn't see that she didn't have any pants on. She stretched out on her bed with her back against her pillows. "It's just the Outer Rim. Only a few hundred thousand light years from our star system, however you calculate that. Gods, I thought you would be happy I'm taking this huge opportunity to study away from home, and the Sol System."

"Hey-look, I am happy for you, Clarke!" Finn insisted. "Seriously. I'm not saying you shouldn't do it. I commend you for being ambitious. It's just that, when you said you put out an application to Cloud City, I was surprised. I figured you would stick with one of the universities here on Mars- like Arcadia. I hear Octavia Blake is already planning to enrol there after secondary."

"I have considered different schools," Clarke reminded Finn with a sigh. "Arcadia was one of them."

"What about over on Earth?" Finn suggested. "There are two big universities there- Harvard, and I think the other one is Yale, or something like that." He then chuckled. "I don't know about studying thousands of light years away from our home system, but on the homeworld of our ancestors right next door? Why not, right? And speaking of Earth, get this. The trip is officially a go."

 Clarke felt a spike of envy. "So you and your family are really heading over to Earth for vacation?"

"Right after graduation at the start of summer break for three whole weeks!" Finn said proudly. "And we'll be staying in the city of Las Vegas! Can you believe it?"

  On Earth, Las Vegas had become renown as a major resort city, primarily for its gambling, shopping, fine dining, entertainment, and nightlife, where exotic cuisines and beverages were imported from around the galaxy. The city boasted an intergalactic level of diversity, and being the only city on both Earth and Mars where humans and non-native alien species coexisted. Now, listening to Finn's excitement as he talked about his upcoming trip, Clarke was feeling slightly more resentful. Her first trip to Earth was something that she had been anticipating for a long time now.

"Well," Clarke said, doing her best to hide her resentment. "Lucky you, Finn. Las Vegas will definitely be my first choice of destinations... if I ever get to Earth."

"Hey come on, Clarke," Finn coaxed, already sensing how Clarke felt. "Heading out into the galaxy for the first time is a much bigger deal."  

"The thing is, Finn- I want to do this for me," Clarke explained to her friend sincerely. "And by studying over on Cloud City? It's a chance for me to at least see something of the galaxy. I mean gods know I would never be able to afford to study on Coruscant."

“Yeah... the University of Coruscant," Finn said almost bitterly. "The top academic institution in the entire galaxy."

 There was a brief silence that followed. The hologram of Finn flickered.

"So what did your mother think about this?" Finn then asked. "With you hoping to go away to school in some strange place outside the Sol System?"

"She is still a little against it right now," Clarke admitted. "I think she is still hoping for the UofA to be my pick. She feels there are already plenty of post-secondary education opportunities for me on Mars. She definitely didn't expect me to send an application to Cloud City University, of all places. But she still supports my option, even though she isn't exactly comfortable with the idea of me leaving the home system."

"I can see why," Finn acknowledged. "There's an entire galaxy out there."

  Clarke took a moment to contemplate that. The reality still hadn't quite sunk in that there was the very narrow possibility that she might leave the Sol System entirely to venture out into the broader galaxy. Even if she was only headed for the University on Cloud City, she was almost certain that she would be interacting with, not only humans, but those of non-human species as well. Presently, as it was still early, Clarke hadn't given that a whole lot of thought. The more that she thought about it, the more of the possibility that it was becoming. Clarke had travelled across Mars most of her life. Yet, while she had never visited Earth, the thought of heading off to study somewhere outside the Sol System entirely was exciting, but just the same, it seemed intimidating.

"This would definitely be a huge step for me, Finn," Clarke said. "I would be totally excited about the possibility of being accepted there. I'm a bit nervous about doing this. Not that I'm having second thoughts or anything."

"Clarke, it's totally normal," Finn assured her. "If it were me planning to going off into the galaxy, I would be pumped! Besides, you're the only person I know who is opting to study outside the Sol System. Hell! You're probably the only person on the face of Mars doing it, so you should take some pride!"

"Well it's almost midway through the school year I still have a few more months," Clarke said with a shrug. "I'm betting I'll get responses from UofA and a few other schools first. Who knows if, or when I'll hear from Cloud City?"

"How is your GPA holding up so far?" Finn wanted to know. "If it's not too personal?"

"All of my grades are steady," Clarke answered. "So it will keep my option for UofA open. The Binary class that I'm taking is the most important one-if I want any shot at getting into Cloud City."

"Binary?" Finn repeated. "You mean _Droidspeak_? What about it? Why is that class important?"

"Binary is an intergalactic language, so earning a credit in that course is a key prerequisite for Cloud City," Clarke explained to him.

"Here is what I thought," Finn said switching subjects. "If it does turn out that you are going away, I think it would be a good idea for us to throw a little party for you. How about it?"

  Clarke was silent for a moment. She was making sure she had heard Finn correctly. "Are you serious, Finn? You would want to go through the trouble of throwing me a party?"

"Think of it as a going-away party," Finn suggested. "Because that's basically what it would be."

"And when you say "us", you're talking about....?"

"Me, Bellamy, Murphy, a few others," Finn said almost carelessly. 

 Clarke stared down at the small holographic image of Finn.  "Wait. This wouldn't be a surprise party would it?" She demanded.

"Clarke, you do realize that the whole point of a surprise party is to actually keep it a surprise, right?"

  Clarke only rolled her eyes in response. 

"So would you be up for this or what?" Finn pressed. "I mean when the time comes?"

 Clarke conceded to the idea. "Let's at least wait until I get some responses back first. And maybe hold off until the end of the school year."

"Look-even if you end up settling for UofA, there is still reason to celebrate." Finn then changed the subject. "Listen I gotta bounce now. Oh- and a bunch of us are planning to go sandboarding out on the dunes this weekend. You up for it?"

 Clarke had to take a moment to decide. The rolling red dunes just outside of Arcadia City were hugely popular with sand boarding enthusiasts from the Arcadia City area. It wouldn't have been the first time Clarke had gone sandboarding. The previous summer when she had taken to the dunes with her group of friends, she had taken a fall and proceeded to land hard on her face, getting a mouth full of sand in the process. Not to mention in her eyes. 

"Okay yeah, that was kind of rough," Finn admitted with chuckle when Clarke reminded him just then and now. "And kind of funny- until Jasper Jordan wiped out a minute later and went bouncing half way down the dune. Good that he was okay, but that was funny! He was kind of pissed when he saw us all cracking up."

"So was I when you did it to me!" Clarke reminded him, annoyed.

"Okay, okay!"  Finn backed off. "So if we make plans to head out there on the weekend, you want to come?"

 Clarke sighed. "Sure. If I can get that reading finished up for next week."

"You know, if you are going to be heading off into the galaxy, you'll be away from pretty much everyone you know. You'll want to get  in as much leisure time before you go. Sandboarding is a good way to get your mind off things."

"Well I figure if I do end up going away from everyone I know, it would help to make new friends over there, right?"  

"Don't worry. You'll make new friends in time," Finn promised her. He then kidded, "Hey who knows? Maybe you'll hook up with someone while you're there." 

"Right!" Clark muttered, not feeling exactly humoured by Finn. "Listen, I'm going to go now. I have some school work to do, and thinking this far ahead is making feel exhausted."

“Oh-and don’t forget!” Finn put in once more. “Groundball game tomorrow after school! You coming to watch Bellamy play? And guess who the Reapers are up against?"

  Groundball, as it was known as, was a popular sport on Mars. Many secondary schools, and post-secondary schools, especially more prestiage ones, had a groundball team. The _Reapers_  were the name used by the sports teams at Mount Weather Secondary, particularily the groundball team. Bellamy Blake, another friend and classmate of both Clarke and Finn, played on the Mount Weather groundball team.

“And watch Polis Heights get their asses kicked? Then yes!” Clarke joked with a laugh.

  The _Marauders_ of Polis Heights Secondary School, were the main rivals of the Mount Weather Reapers, especially when it came to groundball. Clarke always took the opportunity to attend a groundball game to watch her friend Bellamy Blake play, and to cheer on the Reapers. It was the groundball games between Mount Weather and Polis Heights that always drew the big crowds. The Reapers had lost their previous game against Polis, and were now looking to get even.

“The Reapers are in a good spot to make the playoffs this year,” Finn added. 

 Before saying goodbye to Finn, Clarke had grudgingly agreed to go out sandboarding on the weekend. Setting the holopad on her bedside table, Clarke exhaled tiredly as she got up off he bed. She pulled off her loose fitting shirt and tossed it aside. As she unclipped and removed her black bra that she dropped over her desk chair, she heard her holopad chiming. Another incoming call.

 _Now what?_ Clarke thought with a sigh, feeling tired and slightly annoyed. She had already decided that she wasn't in the mood to open another call. Not when she was topless and had no bra on. If it was important, the person would leave a recorded transmission. As she was about to put on a fresh shirt, the holopad pinged three times, indicating that there was a recorded transmission waiting.

 Clarke shifted herself back onto her bed and she reached for her holopad to open the recorded transmission. The blue hologram projected the image of a girl with long dark hair and toned-skin. It was Raven Reyes, another of Clarke's classmates and close friends.

"Heyyy, Clarke!" Raven Reyes began her recorded message with a cheerful tone. "I know you're there and you're probably not bothering to answer right now, but I just wanted to let you know that…."

  _I'll get back to her in the evening._ Clarke promised herself after she switched off the recorded message. As she lay back on her bed and stared up at the white ceiling above her head. Any thoughts of school work were placed aside and she was already playing with that possibility, perhaps even a remote hope, of being accepted into Cloud City University. 

 

-End of Chapter One-

 

 

 

 


	2. Between Mother and Daughter

 The early afternoon was pleasant enough. Clarke was out on the balcony of the suburban Arcadia City home where she lived with her mother Abigail. She was stretched out on the plastic white lounge chair. In front of her, her holopad was activated and projected a large 3D hologram depicting the layout of the Cloud City University Campus. 

 She had completed and graduated from secondary school at Mount Weather. She had scored a very decent GPA by the end of her final semester. As she had predicted, she had received offers from Arcadia University, three other schools, but more importantly, Cloud City University. Most of her friends were also moving on. Finn Collins had accepted an offer to Cassini College. Clarke's prerequisite course in Binary seemed to have gained her some leverage in the hopes of being offered into Cloud City. By then Clarke had a very difficult, and important decision to make-as to whether to stay on Mars, or go to school off-planet. Her decision to choose Cloud City University was needless to say, enormous and life-changing for her, but on the positive side, also it opened up a doorway of any number of opportunities for her.

  Clarke had spent part of the summer making preparations to go away, and counting the days down until she left for Cloud City. She assumed that most of those days would relatively uneventful- with maybe the exception of her upcoming going-away party. Of course there wouldn't be anymore sandboarding days for the foreseeable future, least of all not in a floating metropolis in the skies of some distant planet. Now with the final weekend upon her, Clarke had agreed to take in a final day of sandboarding on the dunes outside of Arcadia City. Naturally, but not to her surprise, that meant taking just one more light bruise directly above her right knee after taking a fall. That would be the last run that she would take down the dune on her board.

  Following that weekend, Clarke had made most of her time making preparations to leave, which included packing, as well as making travel preparations. In the spare that time she did have, she spent it studying the holographic layout of the Cloud City University. The spark of excitement she felt at the thought of going away was always accompanied by a feeling of unease. It was never far from her mind and whenever she thought about it, there were always questions circling about. 

 Sitting where she was, Clarke began to feel restless the longer she let her thoughts consume her. She switched off her holopad and placed it on the small table beside the chair. She stretched her legs, stood up, and moved over to the balcony railing. The balcony itself was at the rear of the house and overlooked the backyard. Weather Hills was a suburban neighbourhood of Arcadia City where Clarke had lived most of her life. Weather Hills itself was a particularly hilly neighbourhood. Chancellor's Court, the street that Clarke lived on, was elevated enough so that from where she stood, provided a high angle view of the neighourhood rooftops. 

  _It's still amazing,_ She thought to herself as she leaned on the balcony railing and fixed her gaze on a cluster of high rise buildings in the far distance. _How a few c_ _enturies of colonization can bring civilization to a barren planet._

That, of course, was ancient history, or close to it. Mars was Earth's neighbour and the fourth planet outward from the sun. Mars was once believed to have been incapable of supporting life. It had been proposed that humans would have to live within sustainable domed cities. When this was proven false, that the Martian atmosphere was breathable, the governments of Earth came together and prepared an ambitious project: To send humans to colonize Mars. It was a century before the first fleet of colonial Earth ships called the _Starflowers,_ was completed. Each of the Starflower ships were said to have carried several thousand colonists aboard, all of them hailing from various Earth nations. The Starflowers were assigned to land on different regions of Mars to begin the colonization. At least one of the Starflower ships was said to have been lost.

 In the centuries following the first Starflower colonists, there was a flow of immigration from Earth to Mars. Within centuries, Mars went from being a barren and uninhabited planet to hosting a human population of several billion. Many Marsians could still claim descent from the first Starflower colonists. Both of Clarke's parents, according to her mother Abigail, were fourth and fifth generation immigrants. Clarke had wondered where her ancestors had come from before they had immigrated from Earth. Even her mother wasn't entirely certain, but some existing family data suggested the United States, the name of one of the old Earth nations.  

 Now it still felt a bit strange to Clarke that she would heading off into the broader galaxy before she even had the opportunity to visit the homeworld of her ancestors. There was a common saying among Marsians: _"You haven't lived until you hear the call of Old Earth."_ That may have been true.

 Ironically enough though, Clarke heard the call of the great wide galaxy instead. There wasn't anyone that she knew who hadn't visited Earth at least once. She recalled the previous year when her friend Finn Collins had announced to her that he and his family would be vacationing on Earth. And right after graduation, Finn had left for vacation on Earth for three weeks. Clarke still felt that twang of jealousy. Of course that was well before she made her decision to enrol at Cloud City University.

"Clarke!" Her thoughts were cut into by the sound of mother Abigail suddenly calling her from somewhere inside the house. "Clarke, are you here?"

 It sounded like her mother had just come home.

"I'm out on the balcony!" Clarke called back over her shoulder.

  She grabbed the holopad off of the small table and she went inside, shutting the balcony doors behind her.

"Mom?" Clarke called from the upper landing. "Where are you?"

"I'm in the kitchen," Abigail responded from downstairs. "I'm about to put some coffee on."

"I'm in." Clarke went down to the kitchen to find her mother at work at the counter.  

  She entered the kitchen to the strong aroma of coffee. Her mother Abigail, busy at the stove, turned towards her. There was strong resemblance between Clarke and her mother. Clarke had been complimented more than once that she had her mother's brown eyes. While her own hair was lighter shade of blonde, her mother's was a shade darker. Abigail seemed more inclined to darken the colour as she neared her fifties. 

"How has your day been?" Abigail asked pleasantly as Clarke took her seat at the kitchen table. "I was out running some errands. I hope you spent at least some of the day productively."

Clarke shrugged. "However you define 'productively'. 

"As in, not taking another trip out to go sandboarding,"

 Clarke shook her head. "Really, mom. Have I ever come off the dunes with any broken bones?"

"No, but I still remember last summer when you went out there and you took a fall," Abigail said to her. 

"It's only sandboarding," Clarke reminded her mother. "And It's not like it's dangerous. Besides. This weekend was probably the last time that I'll be doing any sandboarding for a long time. It's not like I'll be able to do any on Cloud City." 

 Once the coffee was ready, Abigail poured two cups and brought them to the table. "Clarke, you can tell me honestly," She said gently as she sat down at the table. "How are you feeling about all this?"

"As in, how I'm feeling about going away?" Clarke asked.

 "Is there anything that you want to talk about?" Abigail asked her.

"Mom, I know this is a huge change for the both of us," Clarke said patiently to her mother. "I know you that would probably have preferred that I had chosen to stay on Mars and enrol at Arcadia University. And yeah- I understand if you aren't really all for this-with me going off to Cloud City."

"Sweetheart, I support your decision," Abigail said to her smiling assuredly. "I was just very surprised that you made the choice that you did."

"I know. It's a big galaxy," Clarke admitted as she sipped her coffee. "You've always said that. Is that why you're worried about me going away?"

  Abigail sighed and gave a sad smile. "You're ambitious, Clarke. And you have an adventurous nature that I'm sure you got from your father. I know that I've said that it's a big galaxy, and it's true. It's not like you're travelling across Mars or flying to Earth. In another two weeks, you'll be travelling thousands of light years from home to go to school. Clarke, what means so much more to me than just you going away to school somewhere across the stars, is knowing that you're going to be okay. That's what's important to me the most."

 Clarke gave her mother a reassuring smile. "I can handle this, Mom. I'm exciting about this-as intimidating as it seems."

"As long as you aren't feeling stressed or overwhelmed," Abigail cautioned.

 Clarke shook her head. "Weird. You would think that I would be, but I've kept it in control."

  Abigail studied her daughter for a moment. "Have you been practising some meditation techniques that I'm not aware of?"

"Mom, what I do in private isn't exactly your business," Clarke said firmly.

 "Clarke, I don't care if you practice meditation on your own in private, but try not to fall too deep into the  _Jedi_ and the whole belief in the _Force_. I know that you're interested in those subjects." 

  In the Sol System, the _Force_ was a relatively distant concept that very few understood and was widely dismissed. The _Jedi_ , on the other hand, were viewed as nothing more than a distant galactic legend. 

 "There is nothing wrong with believing in the Force- at least from a scientific perspective," Clarke said. "You know that I love to learn anything that I can about the outside galaxy. You could bet I could learn plenty if I was going to Coruscant instead of Cloud city." 

"Sweetheart, you know that we could never afford to send you to school in the Core Worlds," Abigail said. "You're lucky enough to have been accepted into Cloud City. You'll be leaving in only a few weeks and that time will go by faster than you realize."

"Oh, and guess what? I'll be getting a going-away party before I go," Clarke said proudly. "Down at the _Dropship_. You know the popular bar and night club downtown? Finn Collins suggested it. I think Bellamy is doing the reservations."

"That's wonderful!" Abigail said, very pleased. "It's good that you can enjoy one last night out with your friends before you leave."

 She then switched subjects. Narrowing her eyes, she asked, "Clarke, by any chance, has there been anyone that, well.... strikes your interest lately?"

 Clarke felt her cheeks turn hot and she felt a bit uncomfortable at the question. She knew that her mother was only genuinely curious and wasn't trying to pry.

 "No-at least not right now anyway," She answered, still feeling bit embarrassed, and trying not to sound overly-defensive. "Mom, I know you were thinking Bellamy, but there's nothing really... between us, you know?"

"That is a bit of a shame," Abigail said, sounding disappointed. "Bellamy definitely seems like a great guy. I mean, you did go to secondary school with him."

"You don't think it's weird that I went through secondary school without really seeing anyone?" Clarke asked uncertainly. 

"Of course it isn't, Clarke," Her mother assured her. "Trust me. It happens. I'm just very surprised that....there hasn't been a boy or two that you've had your eye on."

 Clarke could only shrug. "Not yet anyway."

"Not even Finn Collins? He seems like your type."

"Again, mom, no."

 As far as Clarke was concerned, Finn was interested in Raven Reyes, another one of her classmates, but the exact status of their relationship wasn't entirely clear.

"All right, well, I won't push you on the subject," Abigail promised. "I definitely don't want you to rush into anything."

  Strangely, Clarke had never felt a real attraction to any guy she knew, but she never questioned it. She was being careful not to let the conversation with her mother drift into the suggestion that she wasn't interested in guys at all. It wasn't a subject that she was comfortable in bringing up with her mother. Clarke simply drew her own conclusion was that she just hadn't met the right person and that was that.

"You might even meet someone while you're at Cloud City," Abigail suggested positively. She sipped her coffee and added, "But preferably a human."

"As opposed to a member of some alien species?" Clarke said dryly.  

 She had no doubt that Cloud City University have students hailing from different worlds, cultures, and species. She would be interacting with both humans and non-humans. That she was certain of. Clarke, of course, had never interacted with a member of an alien in species in her life, but that would soon change. But how many humans from the Sol System if any, would she expect to encounter while she was there? She wasn't even sure.  

"Clarke, I wouldn't be against you seeing someone while you're away at school," Abigail assured her. "There are bound to be many bright, intelligent, and sophisticated boys attending." 

"Mom, this is the Outer Rim," Clarke reminded her mother dryly. "Cloud City University might be one of the best academic institutions in the Outer Rim- at least in this part of the Rim, but it's not the Core Worlds. If you want bright, intelligent, and sophisticated, I'll bet there is plenty of that on Coruscant. Besides, I'm not really into the whole intergalactic relationship thing." 

 She then suggested, "I know that attending school on Coruscant is out of the picture, but at least let's try take a trip there one of these days. Maybe after my first term ends?"

 "Coruscant," Abigail said with a long sigh. "Clarke, I really want you to see Earth first. So did your father."

  _The airlock incident._ Clarke hated being reminded of the incident aboard the Phobos Moon Space Station above Mars. Always, she hated being reminded of it. Her father Jake Griffin had been the chief engineer aboard the space station. Three years ago there had been an incident, reported to have been an airlock malfunction, that had resulted in the floating death of her father and several other workers. At least the initial report had stated a malfunction, but Jake's wife Abigail had never been given the official report of the investigation. Clarke knew that her mother still firmly believed that there was some sort of cover-up regarding her husband's demise. Both of Clarke's parents had planned for her to see Earth from a young age. It had always been the plan. But without her father, Clarke sometimes wondered if there was any point.

 Now Abigail reached across the table and gently squeezed Clarke's hand. "The thing is, the Republic has become...less stable in recent years," She said seriously. "Coruscant may have to wait." 

 Clarke chose not to press an argument. She only nodded in understanding. While she seldom picked up on news from the outside galaxy, her mother seemed to be in tuned enough with what went on in the outside galaxy.

In the evening, Clarke found herself thinking about the conversation with her mother. Seeing her ancestral homeworld, or visiting the galactic capital were less of a concern than the part of the conversation regarding her sexuality. Up until the conversation with her mother, Clarke had never once questioned her own sexuality until now. For now, Clarke simply dismissed it and tried to put in the back of her mind. And still the questions lingered.

 

-End of Chapter Two-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	3. One More Night Out

The _Dropship_ was a popular bar and nightclub lounge in downtown Arcadia City. On the night of Clarke's going-away party, Finn Collins had agreed to pick her up at her home before they drove downtown. Polis Street, where the Dropship was located, was oriented to Arcadia City's nightlife crowd, through a presence of restaurants and nightclubs. Once they had hit their destination, Clarke and Finn parked a little ways up the street before walking a short distance to the nightclub. By the time they arrived it was already getting dark.

"Is everyone supposed to be coming to this?" Clarke asked Finn as they were walking over to the club.

"Everyone that I'm aware of," Finn replied. "Bellamy and Octavia are definitely going to be there, as well as Murphy. You can also count in Jasper and Monty- and supposedly Harper."

"What about Raven?" Clarke asked him without thinking.

  Finn looked uncomfortable with the question. 

"I doubt it," He replied, avoiding Clarke's gaze as he looked ahead. "I think she had something else on the go."

  Clarke sensed the subject becoming slightly awkward. She immediately changed the subject. "Do you think he and Jasper have already started drinking?" 

"I think it's a bit early for that, I think," Finn said, becoming a bit more relaxed. "But you never know with them. We should hurry and get there before they decide to get smashed and we miss it."

When they came to the doors of the Dropship, the boom of music could be heard from inside. Clarke was instantly hit with the wave of energy from the club once she and Finn were inside. Not to Clarke's surprise, the club was packed. She could already feel her eardrums vibrating from the music. Amid the crowd of patrons and the LED lighting, Clarke had to make sure she didn't get separated from Finn.

"Do you know where they are?" Clarke had raise her voice over the noise.

"Either at the bar or up in the lounge!" Finn almost shouted back to hear. "Probably the lounge!"

The main level of the club was split between the bar area and the dance floor. The main level was entirely illuminated by blue and purple LED lighting. The second level was accessible by a set of winding stairs. The lounge was also illuminated by LED lighting. In this area, there were semi-circular, leather sofas along the walls. The Dropship also had a rooftop patio that could be accessed from the lounge. The boom of music and voices from the main level trailed Clarke and Finn up the stairs into the lounge.

It didn't take long for them to find their group already gathered in one of the comfortable seating areas across the lounge right next to the large bay window that overlooked the street.

"And our party princess has arrived!" John Murphy, where he was sitting, raised his drink and announced loudly and in a joking manner when Clarke and Finn arrived.

"You mean our soon-to-be Cloud City University princess!" The dark-haired Bellamy Blake joked.

Clarke didn't know whether to be flattered at being referred to as "princess". She was also greeted by secondary school classmates Jasper Jordan and Monty Greene, who were also best friends, as well as Harper McIntyre.

"Harper!" Clarke said, pleased to see the dark, blonde-haired girl. "You were able to make it!"

"You can thank Monty," Harper said with a smile. "He convinced me. I'm glad I came. I really wouldn't want to miss seeing you off."

Clarke smiled. "That means a lot to me, Harper. I'm glad I get to see all of you once more."

Octavia Blake, the long, dark-haired younger sister of Bellamy, got up from her seat and eagerly hugged both Clarke and Finn. "My god, Clarke!" She gushed. "I can't believe that this will be the last night that we'll all be getting together."

"O- relax," Bellamy said to his sister sternly. "It's not like Clarke is going away permanently." 

"Octavia, I promise you that we'll get together as soon as I'm back home again," Clark promised as she slid into the sofa.

"Well I'll bet someone will be doing a lot of partying in Cloud City!" Octavia teased. "You'll have to tell us about that, Clarke."

"Yeah, and I'm betting those parties are going to be lit!" Murphy remarked.

"Clarke, you better have some good stories for us when you're back home!" Bellamy kidded. "You're going to be a different person the next time we see you."

Clarke felt herself blushing when the others laughed, but fortunately for her, it wasn't noticeable under the LED lighting.

"Hey, guys- come on! Let's cut Clarke some slack!" Finn joked.

Clarke's throat suddenly felt dry, due to the warm air inside the establishment and she realized she was in need of a drink. It seemed that Bellamy had already read her mind.

"All right! Let's pour some drinks and do a toast!" Bellamy directed. 

_Red Planet_ was the name of a popular brand of Marsian beer that was served in restaurants, bars, and nightclubs. It was Bellamy who did the honour of filling everyone's glasses with the foaming liquid. Once everyone had a full glass, Bellamy led the toast.

"Clarke, this is to you," Bellamy said to her sincerely as he raised his glass. "As you prepare to set off on your next adventure in life."

The group all raised their glasses and chinked them together and drank. The time was the spent at the table drinking being immersed in conversation. Finn spent time covering more about his vacation on Earth and his spent in the city of Las Vegas. Naturally there were more questions for Clarke about her going away to Cloud City. After a half hour had passed, Octavia decided it was time for her to get up from the table.

"Okay! I'm heading downstairs!" Octavia announced as she got up. "Who's coming?"

"Whoa, whoa!" Bellamy shifted in his seat to face his sister. "You're not having anymore to drink!" He warned Octavia.

"I've had one beer all night, Bellamy!" Octavia huffed at her older brother being his usual over-protective self. "And I'm not drinking, okay? I'm going down to the dance floor."

"Whoo! I'm down!" Jasper Jordan piped up eagerly. "You guys coming, or what?" He asked Monty and Harper.

"It's also Request Night tonight!" Monty said. 

  Request Nights happened every Friday at the _Dropship_. On Request Nights, patrons could request the DJ for a song, usually a favourite, to be played, rather than all tracks coming from an assembled playlist. 

"Let's head down!" Bellamy said. "It's not any fun sitting up here all night."

 Clarke knew that Bellamy needed another reason to keep an eye on Octavia.

"Come on, Clarke, let's go do some jamming!" Finn teased. "One more night!"

"My idea of jamming is watching other people jam!" Clarke said to Finn as they headed for the stairs. 

 Murphy rubbed his hands together with anticipation. "Yeah well, I've got some jamming of my own planned!" He said to them as he picked up his pace ahead of the rest of the group.

"Try not to make an ass of yourself this time!" Finn called ahead to Murphy. Of course he meant it as a joke. In response, Murphy threw Finn the finger without turning to look back over his shoulder. 

  Downstairs on the main level, the dance floor was already beginning to fill, amid the boom of music, voices, and the lighting that alternated between different colours. Octavia, Jasper, Monty, and Harper had soon ended up near the middle of the floor. To Clarke's mild amusement, it looked as though Jasper and Monty were goofing off and trying to show off their moves, either to impress Octavia and Harper, or just for the sake of showing off. Where Clarke was, along the edge of the floor with Finn and Bellamy, she noted that Bellamy was throwing occasional glances towards Octavia, either trying to keep track of her among the patrons or to ensure that she kept out of trouble.

 Clarke hadn't realized that she had lost track of Murphy in the last few minutes until he reappeared unexpectedly and grabbed Bellamy playfully by the shoulders from behind.

"All right, boys and girls!" Murphy said to them, trying to sound smooth and enthusiastic. "Who's ready for some Murphy's Line Up?"

  Hearing this, Clarke, Finn, and Bellamy all threw each other looks as if saying to each other, "Not again!" Bellamy, however did say it out loud, and with a roll of his eyes.

 They were all familiar with the definition of "Murphy's Line Up". It was what Murphy referred to as his personal song "requests" for the DJ. And it hadn't been the first time.

"Great! That means you'll get this entire dance floor to yourself! Finn cracked with a chuckle.

"Hey! Hey! Let's try and show a little respect here!" Murphy scolded, feigning indignity. 

 Bellamy folded his arms. "I don't know if I should be more worried about your song requests, or if you'll find another way to embarrass yourself."

"Dude! Chill out! You know you can always be my dance partner!" Murphy said to him with a teasing grin, causing Clarke and Finn to laugh.

 In response, Bellamy playfully shoved Murphy away. "You're about as funny as a busted power coupling!"

"So when is the first request of "Murphy's Line-Up"?" Clarke asked Murphy, deciding she would just go along with it for one more night.

"In about..." Murphy checked his watch quickly. "...six minutes. So stay tuned!"

 Six minutes to kill. Clarke wasn't terribly keen on catching Murphy's Line Up. Depending what Murphy requested to be played, there was one thing Clarke and her other friends could at least agree on: Murphy knew how to make his line-up fun.  

 Clarke turned to Finn beside her. "I'll meet you guys back here in a bit. I'm heading over to the bar."

"Another drink?" Finn asked. "I can buy for you if you want. It's no biggie."

 Clarke shook her head. "Thanks. But I'm just getting some water. I don't feel like going way overboard on the alcohol tonight."

 Finn nodded in understanding. "All right. I'll see you back here in a bit. I'll make sure you can find us."  

  Clarke made her way off of the dance floor and over to the bar. She was able to pick out an available space at the counter. Once she had received a tall glass of water with ice, she took a moment to quench her throat. 

"Not drinking tonight?" The question caught Clarke by surprise. She turned to find that a young woman had appeared beside her at the counter. Clarke couldn't guess what the woman's age was, but she looked like she could have been a few years older. The woman had stringy blonde hair that was kept at roughly the same length as Clarke's. The colour was also a bit darker than Clarke's.

 For a split second though, Clarke was caught off-guard by the woman's question. "Oh-no," She answered, quickly trying to assemble an answer. "I've actually already had a drink or two already tonight."

 And then without giving it a second thought, she introduced herself to the woman. "I'm Clarke by the way."

 The woman gave her a smile. "I'm Niylah."

"Nice to meet you, Niylah. Listen, I'm going to be heading back over to the floor in just a second," Clarke told Niylah, nodding towards the dance floor. "Unless you want to stay here and drink, we can go and dance?"

  Clarke had only been kidding. That was how she intended it. It was supposed to have been a harmless and meaningless gesture. Niylah, on the other hand, appeared to take Clarke's offer differently.

"I appreciate your offer, Clarke," Niylah said with an apologetic smile as she rested a hand on Clarke's arm. "But I'm waiting on my boyfriend right now."

 Clarke felt as if she had taken a hit to the gut.

 _I_ _was only joking!_ She said to herself, but it may have been too late. Clarke already felt herself sinking into an unpleasantly awkward situation. She felt her face beginning to burn and she really hoped Niylah didn't notice.

"Oh! No worries at all!" Clarke said quickly, desperately trying to reverse her increasingly uncomfortable situation. She smiled, trying to appear polite. "I'm here with some friends anyway."

  Niylah smiled again and this time, she leaned in towards to Clarke to speak in her ear. "I'll tell you what. I'll grab you as soon as my boyfriend goes out for a smoke."

Clarke felt something prickle on the back of her neck. She was sure she heard warning sirens going off in her brain.Niylah had to have been signalling a hook-up _. No! No! NO!_ That was what Clarke almost screamed to herself. 

"I'll be sure to keep an eye out for you then." Was how Clarke responded to Niylah's offer, but she had already become flustered enough. She quickly left the bar to make her way back the dance floor without taking another look back at Niylah.

 _Wrong thing to say, Clarke!_ She scolded herself in anger. She was already feeling that she could use another drink to overcome the shock of her encounter. She tried to work out if Niylah was actually serious, or if she was just trying to be nice? 

 _I was only joking about offering her to dance!_ Clarke then told herself firmly. _Wasn't I??_

"You okay, Clarke?" Finn asked her once they had met up again.

Clarke nodded. "Just fine," She lied. _Except that_   _I almost picked up some random girl over at the bar!_ She wanted to say. She wondered how Finn would react to that.

 Finn gave a nod past Clarke's shoulder. "Hey, uh, were you talking to someone over at the bar?" He asked her with curiosity. "Someone you knew?"

 This time Clarke felt her intestines roll and her cheeks heated up. _What had he seen?_  She wondered, feeling a brief panic. She quickly shook her head. "No. I was just offered a space at the counter."

 Finn said nothing at that. He only frowned for a moment and then just shrugged it off. "All right then."

  Clarke exhaled to herself. This was not how she had hoped for her night to turn out. Now she had to hope that she could avoid running into Niylah again on the dance floor or at any other point in time while she was at the Dropship. For now some of her worries became dispersed when a different genre of music began playing that she had never heard at the Dropship. The particular song sounded like a form of rock and roll.

 Clarke felt Finn next to her nudge her on the arm. "I think this is the first round of Murphy's Line Up!" Finn said to her, over the music.

 "This?" Clarke said incredulously.  

"Blues rock and roll," Finn explained. "It was supposed to have been popular back on Old Earth." Old Earth, meaning on Earth from centuries before.

 If this was part of Murphy's Line-Up, Clarke had to give Murphy some credit that most people on the floor were actually willing to get into the song. This seemed to gave Jasper and Monty another opportunity to show-off in the middle of the floor. And of course, Murphy was going to be Murphy and he wasn't going to let anyone outdo him. 

 _"_ _You can't come across the Astrobridge until you pay the toll."  
_ _"So don't try to lay no boogie woogie on the king of rock and roll!"_

Murphy slid dramatically across the floor on his knees as if he were a rock star, pretending to hold up microphone as he lip-synched the words, " _On the king of rock and roll!"_ Clarke had to laugh, watching Murphy make a spectacle of himself in the middle of the floor. It at least helped dispel her previous worries.

 After one more song had played, Clarke had decided to get some air up on the rooftop patio. This time Bellamy had joined her as they leaned on the railing and observed the street below.

"You know, on some nights, you can see Earth," Bellamy said to her, gazing up at the night sky. "The best way to do that is to get out of the city and away from all the light pollution." He looked over at Clarke looking a bit concerned. "Is everything all right?"

 Clarke gave a sigh. Leaning on the railing, she gazed down at the street below. "It's just the realization that tonight is the last time that I'll be seeing all of you for a while. I have one more free day tomorrow to spend some time with my mother before I leave."

Bellamy shook his head. "I know," He said, sharing her sentiment. "It's hard to believe that the day after tomorrow, you'll be heading off to Cloud City. It must be surreal for you. How does it feel?"

Clarke shrugged. "Exciting? A bit intimidating? Especially when you're heading off into the great wide galaxy." She then asked. "How long do you think it takes to get to the Bespin System?"

Bellamy thought for a moment as he stared out over the street. "From our star system? Through hyperspace, it will be over ten hours- at least," He guessed. "That's still a long way from home, when you think about it. Listen-Clarke, if you're still worried, don't be. You'll do great. I promise. Remember- this is a huge step for you."

"Even if I still feel a bit guilty?" Clarke asked him.

Bellamy looked over at her. "Guilty?" He repeated, looking a bit surprised. "Over going away to school?"

"Honestly, Bellamy, this is something that I really want to do," Clarke confessed. "I couldn't imagine not taking up the opportunity to study outside the Sol System. I mean, I'm going to be flying some thousand light years away from home. I just feel guilty about leaving my mom to an empty house."

"Hey, hey-Clarke," Bellamy said gently. "She understands that you really wanted to do this. Being thousands of light years away from home doesn't mean that you're going to be completely out of contact with her for an entire semester, or even a term. Just be  sure you keep the holopad handy and touch base with her as often as you can. It's not like you're going to summer camp. You'll be flying thousands of light years away. It's completely normal if you start to feel homesick."

"Well," Clarke muttered. "Considering that I'm leaving the day after tomorrow, I don't really want to be thinking about whether or not I'll get homesick right now."

"You're a tough girl, Clarke," Bellamy said with confidence. "And I believe in you. We all do. You're gonna handle this."

"And what are you going to do without me?" Clarke asked him kiddingly.

 The black haired boy gave a laugh. "Don't worry. Tech school will be keeping me busy. It doesn't mean you won't be in my thoughts."

  The most difficult part of the night for Clarke was at the very end. Having to say goodbye to each of her friends was not an easy feat. Clarke tried to remind herself that she wasn't going away from Mars permanently, but it felt like she was. It was Finn who gave Clarke a ride home again at the end of the night. Saying goodbye to her close friend once more seemed even more difficult than the others. Lastly, Finn promised to plan a group trip to Earth for when Clarke eventually returned home. Of course, he suggested the city of Las Vegas. Clarke gave Finn a promise to consider. As Clarke stood at the end of her driveway and watched Finn speed away down the dark street in his landspeeder, she knew that it was the last time that she would see him for a long time, perhaps a half a year.

 Her mother Abby was working her late-shift at the hospital and so Clarke had the house to herself for the evening. Once Clarke had wound down for the night, wandered out onto the balcony facing the rear of the home. There was far less light pollution on the outskirts of Arcadia City and more visibility of the nightsky. Clarke went and stretched herself out in the fold-up lounge chair. As she stared up at the star-filled sky, she could only wonder what new worlds awaited beyond the skies. 

 

-End of Chapter Three-

 

 

 

 

 


	4. Leaving Day

 Clarke took in a breath and exhaled to ease her nerves. It was the very early morning- almost 5AM. It was still dark outside. The day that she was to leave for the Bespin System had rolled in faster than she anticipated. In less than ten minutes, she and her mother Abigail would be leaving for the Arcadia City Starport. By then Clarke was packed and had made all her necessary travel preparations. In the time that she had remaining before she had to leave, she stood in the middle of her bedroom and looked around. In the past, especially during her secondary school years, Clarke always had a tendency to leave her room in a somewhat disorderly state- much to her mother Abigail's displeasure, but now she observed how unusually tidy and sparse it looked. As long as Clarke was away that was how her room would remain.

"Clarke!" Abigail called to her from downstairs. "We have to be at the starport in an hour!"

"Yeah, mom!" Clarke responded back. "I'll be right down."

"Take one more look around your room," Abigail advised her. "Make sure you aren't forgetting anything."

  Clarke made a quick mental note in her head. Apart from her luggage containing her personal clothes and items, all of her key carry-on items were accountable, most importantly her Federacy passport, her camera, her holopad, and her pair of datapads- one used for school, as well as her personal datapad. She then did a quick inspection of her presentation in the mirror above her dresser. Her bright, silvery blond hair was kept loose as it always was. For her attire, she had chosen black jeans and a long-sleeved grey top. Over her outer attire, she wore a black leather, zippered jacket. 

 _So this is how I'll be travelling off-planet,_  Clarke thought satisfied, as she studied herself in the mirror. 

 Hells if she knew anything at all about what actually to wear when travelling out into the galaxy. There were no official dress code guides for Federacy citizens when travelling abroad. The last thing Clarke did was grab her black shoulder bag off of her bed and she slung the strap over her shoulder.

 _That's everything_ , She thought. _I'm good to go._

Clarke moved for the doorway and then she paused, just for a moment, to take one final look at her room, as if it were the last time she would see it. She switched off the overhead light before making her way to the stairs. From downstairs, she could hear her mother moving about and the sound of her high-heeled shoes against the tiled floor. As Clarke made her way down the stairs, her mother Abigail then appeared in the front hall wearing a light blue denim jacket. Her dark blond hair was kept loosely tied behind her. 

"Well someone looks ready to see the galaxy," Abigail said smiling.

"I did go for my best travelling outfit," Clarke said.

"Do you have everything that you'll need?" Her mother asked.

"My Federacy passport, camera, holopad, datapads...." Clarke said, listing off all her necessity items. "You name it."

  As Abigail started out the front door, Clarke grabbed her dark blue luggage suitcase that she had left in the front hall overnight, she wheeled it out the front door. In the early dawn, the streetlights were still lit. Clarke pressed a button on the front door's electronic key panel and activated the lock. She then went down to the driveway where her mother's white roofed-in, four- door landspeeder was parked. While Abigail opened the driver's side door and slid in, Clarke shoved her luggage suitcase into the backseat before she went and slid into the front passenger's seat. Abigail started up the landspeeder's engine and began to back the vehicle down the driveway onto the street. As they pulled away, Clarke was able to take one final look at her home.

\-----

"Mom, the Cloud City Campus actually looks really amazing," Clarke said to her mother as she examined the hologram. She and her mother were taking the city's Crosstown Freeway to get to the Arcadia City Starport on the edge of town. By then it was already becoming lighter out. 

 While on the way to the starport, Clarke had pulled out her holopad and opened up the blue hologram that projected the Cloud City University Campus. 

"There are least six different buildings on the campus, including the Student Centre," Clarke explained to her mother. "The student residence are also on the campus."

"Well, Clarke, you definitely seem very excited about this," Abigail said, sounding pleased. 

"Mom, you should really come and visit me, if you can," Clarke encouraged.

  Abigail smiled. "Clarke, I promise I will try and visit you if I can make the arrangements." 

"Even if you can't, it's not a big deal," Clarke assured. "We can always talk over holopad- when I have free time."

"As long as you concentrate more on your school work and less on partying in your free time," 

 Clarke gave her eyes a roll. "Mom, I don't think they do partying at Cloud City University the way we do here- you know, with the all the loud music, the drinking, throwing up..."   

"Well there is one good thing about you going away to Cloud City," Abigail said. "It might help you kick some of your old habits."

 Clarke looked over at her mother. "You mean like partying?" She gave a shrug. "Maybe I'll pick up something new while I'm there."

  She switched subjects. "Mom, I know I've said this already, but I'm sorry that you're going to have an empty house to yourself for a while."

Abby gave Clarke a reassuring smile. "Sweetheart, you don't need to be worried about me being alone at home while you're thousands of light years away. Believe me, I'll be keeping myself preoccupied while you're away. Your Aunty Diane and I might go on a short trip. It came up during a holopad conversation when I was talking to her the other day."

 Clarke gave her mother a look of surprise. "You mean you and Aunty Diane are going to go to Earth?" She asked, almost with awe. Diane was Abigail older sister and aunt to Clarke. Clarke then became disappointed. "Mom, you said that we we're going to there together at some point! Isn't that what dad wanted?"

"Clarke, I'm not suggesting that your aunt and I are considering going to Earth," Abigail said firmly. "Yes, I know that what your father always wanted. It's much more likely that we'll book the Cassini-Huygens Cruise.

  _How nice,_ Clarke thought, feeling a bit of envy.

 That Cassini-Huygen was something Clarke could consider and she wondered why she had never thought of it before.  The _Cassini-Huygens_ was popular cruise vacation that took passengers into the Outer Planets of the Sol System on a two-week flyby through Saturn's orbit. Among Eartheans especially, the Cassini-Huygen Cruise flight around Saturn was one of the most popular planetary cruise vacations. 

"Is it true that you can pay a fee to be flown into Saturn's atmosphere in a small shuttle?" Clarke asked with curiosity. "Or in some kind of pressurized spacecraft?"

"I don't know about Saturn's atmosphere," Abigail admitted. "But they'll fly you into Titan's atmosphere." Titan was the name for the largest moon of Saturn.

"Mom, if you were to pick any place in the entire galaxy to visit, where you would go?" Clarke asked her mother. "As in some world that's actually suitable to visit?"

Abigail gave a chuckle. "You mean with the exception of Coruscant?" She thought for a moment. "Honestly, I would probably choose Alderaan."  

"Alderaan," Clarke repeated, considering the suggestion.

 Alderaan was a planet located in the Core Worlds that was renown throughout much of the galaxy for its nature, poetry, philosophy, art, couture, and cuisine. 

"That definitely sounds like a good place to visit," Clarke agreed, although she wasn't too familiar with planet. "Maybe you and Aunty Diane should take up the opportunity while you can."

"Honey, I doubt that we're going to be able to make it to the Core Worlds. And it's not like like Alderaan is going to suddenly disappear."

  It was another forty-minutes before they came within reach of the Arcadia City Starport. From the freeway where she and her mother had just entered the starport's vicinity, Clarke spotted a large passenger transport ship descending from the morning sky and preparing to make landing in one of the starport's outdoor docking bays. She also spotted a second transport ship lifting off into the sky. In the past, Clarke had only flown planetary flights across Mars in smaller sky transports that could carry up to two-hundred to three-hundred passengers. The transport ships, one that Clarke would be boarding to fly from the Sol System, were much larger than she had realized. She almost felt a knot in her gut as she watched one of the ships take off into the sky. It was almost a feeling of both excitement and nervousness.

 The Arcadia City Starport, located on the outskirts of the city, had three separate terminals: Terminals A, B, and C. Terminal A was strictly for inter-planetary flights across Mars. Terminal B was for all flights between Mars and Earth. Clarke, however, would be flying from the third terminal, which was Terminal C. Terminal C was all for inbound and outbound flights from the Sol System. Outbound flights departed the Sol System entirely and were destined for the nearest major star system, the Terminus System. There were no outbound flights between Mars and Terminus. Starships from Earth frequently made stop-overs at certain Marsian starports before becoming outbound flights.      

 It was another ten minutes before Clarke and her mother had navigated their way off of the freeway and found their way into the indoor parking bay. 

"Gods, Arcadia has to be one of the worst starports on this planet in terms of parking!" Clarke muttered in annoyance after they had parked and she and her mother were crossing the indoor parking bay.  

 Her comment came from her displeasure of having to take a five minute hike across the extensive parking bay to get to the actual terminal. For all three of Arcadia Starport's terminals, they each had their own parking bay. Terminal A was the only terminal that actually had underground parking. Clarke knew that for a fact because in the past, she had taken planetary flights out of Terminal A. She recalled some years before when she and her parents had taken a flight across Mars to Elysium. Of all the starports on Mars, the Solis Lacus Starport was said to have the worst reputation in terms of parking.

 In the early morning, Terminal C was relatively light with passenger volume, but not entirely deserted, once Clarke and Abby had made their way inside. Moving down the expansive corridor, the only sounds were of the wheels of Clarke's luggage suitcase and of Abby's high-healed shoes against the marbled floor. They passed along a transparent walkway that provide a view of the outdoor docking bay on both sides. Clarke could see a large transport ship in-dock and she briefly wondered if that was the ship that she would be taking. Occasionally, there was an announcement over the PA system regarding an incoming flight or a departure time. 

"Clarke, once we're at the docking gate, it will be you from there," Abigail reminded her.

  Clarke felt another knot tightening in her stomach. After they passed through Customs, the last stop would be the boarding gate to her transport. After that, she knew she would be on her own from there. It suddenly felt like it was going to be more difficult saying goodbye to her mother.  Once Clarke and her mother were through customs and security, they made their way to Docking Gate 9. There were only minutes until Clarke boarded her transport. In that remaining time, Clarke and Abby sat in the lobby beside the large window that looked out over docking bay. The morning sky had become a lighter shade of blue. In the backdrop beyond the starport grounds, was the city of Arcadia just waking up. 

 _While the rest of the city begins a new day, I'm sitting here about to fly off of Mars and out of the Sol System entirely,_ Clarke thought.

 In those remaining minutes, Clarke made the most for that time chatting with her mother. 

An announcement suddenly came through the PA system. _"Ladies and gentlemen. This is the pre-boarding announcement for all passengers boarding Flight T-322 to the Terminus System. Regular boarding will begin at 8:45. Please make your way to Docking Gate 9. Be sure that you have your boarding pass and identification ready. Again, this is a pre-boarding announcement for all passengers boaring Flight T-322 to the Terminus System. Regular boarding will begin at 8:45. Please make your way to Docking Gate 9. Be sure that you have your boarding pass and identification ready. Thank you."_

 Upon hearing that announcement,Clarke knew that it was time. 

"Goodbye, mom." Clarke hugged her mother for a long moment, almost not wanting to let go. It was even harder just to say goodbye.

"Sweetheart, I'm so proud of you," Abigail said into Clarke's hair as she embraced her daughter. "Your father would have been so proud of you too if he could see you."

"Look." Clarke drew back and she rolled up her right sleeve to reveal a silver watch. "I'm wearing dad's watch."

"He would have wanted you to have it," Abigail said.  

  Clarke looked over her shoulder towards the Docking Gate. "Well....I have a flight off of Mars to catch," She said to her mother, forcing a steady smile and hoped that her tears wouldn't suddenly erupt. 

"Oh and one more thing." Abigail quickly pulled out her camera to a take a quick photo of Clarke.

"Just please be careful!" She stressed as Clarke began to wheel her luggage towards the Docking Gate's entrance. 

"It's all right, mom! I've got this!" Clarke called back, looking back at her mother once more and giving her a quick wave.

 _I've got this._ She vowed to herself as she made her way down the boarding ramp to the airlock. _I've got this._

And that was that. Upon stepping aboard the passenger transport, Clarke was on her own. Her assigned seat was on the second level of the transport. Once she had stored away her luggage bag in the compartment above her, she settled herself in her seat next to the window that looked out at the docking bay. She took in a deep breath, shut her eyes, and exhaled.

 _It's just me now,_ She thought.

 The feeling of having said goodbye to her mother began to subside quicker than she had thought. Staring out the window at the docking bay, Clarke felt a twinge of excitement of travelling on her own.

 A boarding announcement was made by the captain: _"Ladies and gentlemen, this is the captain. Welcome onboard Flight T-322 with service from the Sol System to the Terminus System. The airlock is now sealed. We are currently third in line for take-off and are expected to be in the skies in approximately seven minutes time. We ask that you please fasten your seatbelts at this time and secure all baggage underneath your seat or in the overhead compartments. We also ask that your seats and table trays are in the upright position for take-off. Please remain in your seats until we have made the transition into hyperspace. Smoking is prohibited for the duration of the flight. There is an approximately ten hour flight to the Terminus System. Thank you for choosing Viking Transports. Enjoy your flight."_

 _A ten hour flight just to Terminus!_  Clarke thought with dread, having never been on that long a flight in her life. _Gods, that means the flight to the Bespin System will be twice as long!_

She sighed dejectedly to herself as she made herself comfortable. _Well, at least I'll have ways of entering myself so I won't be deathly bored the whole way,_ she thought. 

   In minutes, Clarke heard the transport ion engines starting up. As she felt the transport beginning to lift off from the ground, she gripped the arm rests of her seat. She had assumed by now that she would be used to flying. The only different was that this was not a planetary flight across Mars that she was accustomed to.  As the transport rose higher, Clarke took a look out her side window and saw the grounds of the starport shrinking away, and beyond, she gained a view of the expanse of Arcadia City. Her home. The transport began to turn in mid-air before it made it ascended sharply into the morning sky. Looking out her side window, Clarke saw the ground vanishing as the transport took to the sky. The transport passed through the wall of grey clouds. Clarke saw the veil of the dark blue morning sky slowly fade as the ship passed through the planet's atmosphere and into the black void of space.

 _I'm actually in space,_ Clarke said to herself.  _I've left Mars and I'm in space for the first time._

 Looking out her window again, she saw the curving atmosphere of Mars laid out beneath her.

 _It's so beautiful,_ Clarke thought.  _Like a giant blue and green marble with bits of red._

 The captain's voice cut thorough the PA system a minute later. _"Attention, all passengers. We are preparing to make our transition into hyperspace. Please remain fastened in your seats until we have our transition. Please standby....... Transition into hyperspace commencing..... in three... two....one..."_

 Clarke tensed when she heard the sound of the ship's hyperdrive starting up. As the captain made the countdown, Clarke grabbed once final look out her window at Mars- her home planet, before the transport ship made its entrance into lightspeed.

 

-End of Chapter 4-

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 


	5. Terminus

 

 Now as she observed the planet Terminus from one of the space station's many viewports, Clarke saw nothing particularly special about it. Terminus was the nearest major system to Earth, by some several hundred light years. Even so, Clarke had just come off of a ten-hour flight through hyperspace from her home star system just to get to Terminus. During her duration in hyperspace, Clarke had learned some more. Terminus was considered a gateway into the wider galaxy. Being the nearest major star system to Earth, Terminus was a crucial planet on the edge of the galaxy. It sat at the junction of two major hyperspace lanes, receiving regular volumes of space traffic and was a stop-over point for starships. All imports to the Sol System came through Terminus.

 Terminal City was the name of the chief space-port city on the planet's surface, hosting a population of several million. Terminal City was considered to be the planetary capital. Being a hub for trade and commerce, Terminal City was the primary destination of all outbound flights from the Sol System. Private starships were permitted atmospheric entry to land in Terminal City. Commerce ships carrying cargo were required to dock with any of the array of orbital facilities. 

 Clarke would not be landing in Terminal City. Instead she had arrived at Terminus Orbital Station, the largest and most important orbital spaceport in the Terminus System . It was at this particular spaceport where passenger freighters and other classes of starships regularly docked here. Federacy passenger transports originating from the Sol System periodically docked at the Terminus Orbital Spaceport, but this was only in the instance of those Federacy citizens, in Clarke's case, for example, who were making a transfer to another flight elsewhere in the galaxy. Terminal City was generally the destination of all outbound Federacy passenger fights. Very few ever went further than the Terminus System.

 Debarking from a ten-hour flight from the Sol System and boarding the Terminus Orbital Station provided Clarke with her very first taste of the outside galaxy. There was a steady flow of announcements from over the station's p.a system by a smooth, electronic-sounding female voice. One particular announcement regarding, what sounded like a reminder of station regulations for visitors, was first provided in English, and was then repeated in three different alien languages, none of which Clarke recognized. 

 _I really need to pick up a secondary galactic language!_ Clarke decided, when she heard the announcement being broadcast in the strange alien languages.

Upon leaving the docking terminal where she had deboarded onto the station, Clarke had to figure out where to go to board her transfer flight to the Bespin System. Conveniently, there were large electronic signs along the walls in neon-blue lettering that displayed visitor information. She paused momentarily to check one of the signs to get some idea of how to navigate her way around. The visitor information wording was displayed in English, followed by translations into three different alien languages. The information, of course, directed visitors to different points on the station-including planetary customs, transfer flights, restaurants, the spaceport bar, and other locations. Clarke also observed a large electronic map on the wall that depicted the layout of the spaceport; the various points on the station, and their locations.

 _It's a spaceport. These maps will be all over the place,_ Clarke figured as she studied the map.

 Her first focus was finding out where to board her transfer flight. The _Planetary Terminal_  provided all flights to the surface of Terminus. According to the electronic map of the spaceport, there were two separate outbound terminals where passenger flights departed Terminus for elsewhere in the galaxy: The  _Corellian Outbound Terminal_ and the _Hydian Outbound Terminal_. Both terminals referred to the names of the two major hyperspace lanes. Clarke had just debarked from the spaceport's  _Rimward Terminal_ that received incoming flights from the Sol System. By her flight information in her personal datapad, her flight to the Bespin System wasn't scheduled to depart from the Corellian Outbound Terminal for another two hours. Naturally Clarke assumed that she would hear an announcement on her flight at some point. Of course she also didn't plan on spending any longer than she had to in some strange spaceport.

 For now, Clarke made her way towards the Main Avenue. The Main Avenue was the central hub of spaceport. Here, Clarke for the first time, found herself among a flow of pedestrian traffic- humans and non-humans. This was where she had to remind herself that this was not the Arcadia City Starport back on Mars. She couldn't help feeling mildly intimidated, even slightly uncomfortable, having never been among members of any non-human species in her life. She noted the diversity among the alien visitors. Some aliens by the mere looks of them, may have been friendly, or even approachable, by their nature, but some others appeared far less than that. 

 It was in a moment while she had been distracted, she accidentally bumped into someone, or something. She found herself face-to-face with an alien visitor. This one had a very reptilian appearance about it: Scaly-looking teal skin, a set of large pupil-less eyes, a slender snout, pointed ears, and twin saucer-like antennae.  Clarke had always maintained an interest in learning what she could about the galaxy beyond the Sol System. That included learning to identify certain sentient species of humanoids. Clarke was startled, and a bit shocked, at encountering the Rodian. That wasn't all. There was a sharp and unpleasant aroma surrounding the Rodian that made Clarke's nose curl. When the Rodian spoke to her, it was in his native dialect, and not in English. 

 _"Eeechi atta oona!"_ That was what it sounded like to Clarke when the Rodian spoke in his native dialect.

 The alien's voice was buzzy and nasally. It wasn't aggressive, but not entirely friendly-sounding either.  Clarke, of course, couldn't interpret the Rodian's words, but he sounded annoyed. For all she knew, the Rodian could have been telling her to watch where she was going. 

"Sorry." Clarke apologized instinctively, not sure what else she should have said. The Rodian said nothing else and he moved on without looking back. 

 Clarke took in a breath and sighed aloud to herself at her first real encounter with the member of an a non-human species, in spite of the odour seeping off of the Rodian. "Welcome to the galaxy!" She muttered.

 As Clarke made her way along the Main Avenue, she was trying to take in everything at once- the sights, sounds, and smells. It almost reminded her of an indoor mall. She used her camera to take photos of everything and anything. The first level was made up of entirely of rows of vendors where visitors could purchase foods, beverages, clothing, and other items imported from abroad. There were restaurants, cafes, and clothing outlet stores. The second level above was a glass promenade that provided visitors a view of space from both sides. Clarke took in the blend of aromas from exotic foods being cooked at the vendors. Some vendors catered to specific species or cultures. As appealing as the smells of food were, Clarke wasn't sure she was ready for an exotic meal just yet, but she was becoming mesermized by everything she saw. Everything and everyone around her was strange and outlandish needless to say, but she wondered what she looked like to some of them- an ordinary-looking girl, a citizen of the Federated Territories of Mars, travelling alone and dragging her luggage bag through some strange spaceport? She heard an overlap of conversations in both English and in alien languages.  

 _I wish Finn and them could be here to see this,_ Clarke thought, briefly wondering what her friends back home were doing at that moment.

 Clarke observed the human visitors that she passed by and all she had to do was judge by their outlandish-looking clothing to conclude that there were very few who originated from the Sol System. Clarke was reminded that humans were dispersed across the galaxy, from the Core to the Outer Rim and were found on millions of different worlds. She assumed that most Federacy citizens arriving in the Terminus System, landed in Terminal City on the surface of the planet as opposed to boarding the orbital spaceport.  Clarke passed by an an older human male, who, perhaps was in his early 40s and had greying hair and a goatee. Beneath the man's long brown trench coat, Clarke was a bit shocked when she spotted a leather holster on the man's belt with a small firearm tucked in it. A blaster.

 _That would never be permitted in any starport back home, She_  thought.

 If there was anything that Clarke knew aboutthe galaxy, it was that blaster pistols were the kind of weapon that could be seen just about anywhere. While she knew absolutely nothing about how ownership of these weapons was regulated in other systems, she did know for a fact that there was strict regulation, especially on Mars, regarding the ownership of blaster pistols. Certainly no civilian would ever be permitted to carry one of these small firearms inside a major Marsian starport. Maybe the Terminus Orbital Station had some kind of regulations in place as to what types of weapons could be brought aboard. 

 Clarke passed by another establishment- this one had a large, oval-shaped entrance. There was an electronic sign above the doorway in neon-orange lettering. The sign's translation into English read:  _Spaceport Bar._ The interior appeared to have very little lighting available but there was loud music from a band playing from inside. The very first thing that came to Clarke's mind was the thought of a shady-looking bar filled with unsavoury patrons. 

 _No way I'm stopping in there for a drink...._ Clarke thought darkly as she looked towards the bar.

 There were a pair of Rodians, apparently loitering just outside the bar's entrance. The Rodians threw unsettling stares towards Clarke through their large, pupil-less eyes. Clarke found yet one more reason not to go anywhere near the Spaceport Bar. She quickly looked away from the creepy-looking Rodians and moved on.

 Because Terminal Orbital Station received visitors and travellers from around the galaxy, the Main Avenue of the Spaceport catered to a wide variety of species. Passing the rows of vendors offering cooked, or fried foods, Clarke was relieved when she found some vendors that catered specifically to humans from the Sol System. She decided that purchasing any travel-wear wasn't necessary, since she was only bound for Cloud City, and that she had already bought her own travel-wear back home before she had left. Clarke currently carried on her, her Blue Card, which was the official credit card of the Federacy that was issued on both Earth and Mars- as well, she carried her a Galactic Credit Chip. She figured that Terminal Orbital Station would be her last stop before the Bespin System where Terran goods could be purchased. Using Federacy currency that she carried on her, Clarke bought a few minor items, including an order of Marsian Fried Rice, one of her favourite dishes, from one of the food vendors.

 Afterwards, Clarke briefly paused at another electronic map of the spaceport to navigate her way over to the _Corellian Outbound Terminal_ where she would board her transfer flight to the Bespin System. Along the way she passed by a trio of tall, heavy set humanoid aliens. Clarke had come across information on this particular species before in a databank, but she couldn't recall the exact name of their species. They were distinctive-looking by their three eyes and goat-like snouts. Maybe it was Clarke's imagination, but the three aliens appeared to observe her through their triplet of three eyes as she passed by them and this elevated her unease a little.

 _Please let me leave this spaceport in one piece..._  Clarke prayed silently to herself.

 She threw a quick look back behind her just as a precaution. She realized that she hadn't seen any presence of security personal since she boarded the station. Certainly there were no present in the Main Avenue. The three aliens had already moved on and Clarke was comfortable in seeing that they posed her no threat. At least these aliens, despite their size, were far less creepy-looking. Who knew that travelling alone through a strange spaceport for the first time would be almost stressful?

Another announcement from the electronic female voice seeped through the station's P.A system: _"A reminder to visitors that all purchased goods exceeding one-hundred credits are to be declared at Planetary Customs."_ The announcement was then repeated in three different alien languages.

 _That must be one of those regular reminders here,_  Clarke thought when she heard the announcement while making her way to the spaceport's Outbound Terminals.  _I haven't even spent that many credits, so I'm good._

 _"Be advised of Station Regulation 501."_  Another announcement immediately followed the previous, this time in a electronic male voice. _"The solicitation of Death Sticks, or any other substance unsanctioned by the Authority of Terminus, is strictly prohibited aboard the station."_

 _Death Sticks?_ The unfamiliar term echoed in Clarke's mind when she heard the announcement of this regulation.  _What the hell are they? Some kind of drug?_

She could only shake her head in disbelief.  _Welcome to the_ _galaxy, Clarke!_

\-----

 Clarke stood at the viewport window on the side of the lobby that faced out over the atmosphere of Terminus. The opposite side faced out away from the planet into deep space. She had left behind the hassle of the main areas of the spaceport and had reached the Corellian Outbound Terminal where she would board her flight to the Bespin System. The lobby was much quieter, in spite of the regular announcements that came through the P.A system. While she waited, she was able to enjoy her small order of Marsian fried rice as she watched the small pinpricks of light from starships streaking above the planet's atmosphere. After arriving in the terminal, Clarke had taken a moment to send an update to her mother Abby back home through a recorded holo transmission. In her transmission, Clarke informed her mother that she was all right after her first ten hour flight through hyperspace. She also described in detail everything that she had seen on the station.

 While Clarke gazed out the window and had allowed her mind to wander momentarily, someone appeared at the window beside her. She turned and discovered a humanoid-looking alien with palish skin. This one was female. Her clothing consisted of black nylon boots, black pants, a short, light brown jacket that hung open and revealing a tight-fitting black shirt underneath. She was slim, standing only a few inches taller than Clarke. She had an attractive, human-looking face. Clarke noted that the alien had no body hair, but she wore an unusual, large black and gold head piece. The most striking feature was the set of head-tails that grew from the base of her skull and extended behind her. 

"Your species- Twi'Lek, right?" It was the very first question that came out of Clarke's mouth, without her thinking, when she recognized the species of that the female alien belonged to. The question was more a result of Clarke's surprise at seeing the Twi'Lek, rather than of ignorance.

"How nice," The Twi'Lek responded almost dryly and in fluent English. "An educated human. "

"I'm sorry," Clarke said, apologizing quickly, overcoming her surprise that the Twi'Lek understood her and responded fluently in English. "Maybe that wasn't the right thing to say. It's just that, I've been on route for the last ten hours or so. I'm waiting in a strange spaceport, and I've already had one run-in earlier with some Rodian. It's just nice to finally have a decent encounter with a non-human who speaks the same language."

 The Twi'Lek chuckled. "Your apology is accepted then. And you seem decent enough yourself. I assume you have a name?"

"Yes. It's Clarke." Clarke introduced herself. 

"Clarke." The Twi'Lek sounded out Clarke's name once. "My name is Echo. You may just refer to me as that."  

"Echo....and is that... short for something?" Clarke asked the Twi'Lek, this time more carefully.

"You could say that," Echo replied. "Although I doubt you would be able to pronounce my full name if you tried, and so Echo will be simple enough."

  The Twi'Lek then turned and gazed out the viewport window that looked out at Terminus. "So where are you travelling to from here, Clarke?" She asked more pleasantly and as a means of starting a conversation. 

"From the Earth System-just rimward from here," Clarke told her. "I'm not actually from Earth though. I'm from Mars- the name of the fourth planet outward from our sun."

"A human from Mars," Echo repeated sounding impressed. "That's something I have never heard of before."

"I'm headed for the Bespin System," Clarke told her, not seeing how it could hurt. "Cloud City actually. I'll be starting at the University there."

 Echo turned to her, looking genuinely surprise. "Ah! The Cloud City University. So it seems that we will soon be colleagues. Perhaps we will be classmates."

 This time it was Clarke's turn to be surprised. "No way! You're headed to Cloud City too?"

"It is very unexpected to encounter someone here who is also bound for the same destination."

"And on Terminus Orbital Station of all places!" Clarke muttered in amazement. "And maybe not exactly the best place."

  Echo gave her a thin smile. "I can promise you there are far worse places in the galaxy than here for travellers. The undercity of Coruscant is not a place where I would want to tread."

 Clarke said nothing to that. She knew nothing of the innumerable levels of undercity that lay beneath the vast ecumenopolis capital of Coruscant in the Core Worlds. From the occasional distant rumour that Clarke had picked up on, the undercity of Coruscant was said to be one of the most dangerous places in the galaxy where sunlight never reached.

 Echo continued on. “ _Nar Shaddaa_ is just as bad.” She was referring the moon of _Nal Hutta_. Also known as the Smuggler’s Moon and the Vertical City, Nar Shaddaa was notorious fo being the cesspool of crime, corruption and pollution in the galaxy. It was also known as the crown jewel of the underworld. Even Clarke was aware of this.

 "What about the Republic?" She then asked Echo, but the question came as vague. She was referring to the galactic government that had its seat on Coruscant.

 Echo shook her head. "What about it?" The Twi'Lek turned to gaze out the viewport. "Clarke, this may come as a surprise to you, but the Republic doesn't exist this far out on the Rim. If you are looking for any system this far from the Core with any resemblance of law and order, the Terminus System is it."

"And also in my own home star system, just rimward from here," Clarke reminded Echo. "You know- the Federacy."

  The Federacy of Earth and Mars was the official name for government of the entire Sol System. Earth was the seat of the Federacy. It was also known commonly as the _Terran Federacy_ , and just as the _Federacy_ , but apparently this didn't convey much to the Twi'Lek.

"And how much influence does your Federacy have outside its own star system, beyond Terminus where the Republic does not?" Echo asked her. 

 Clarke felt caught by the question. "Probably not a whole lot," She admitted. "At least no further than Terminus. I mean, this is where most flights from my home system end up. Look- Echo. I realize that I probably don't know as much about the galaxy as I would like to think that I do."

 Echo nodded. "We do live in a vast galaxy, Clarke."

"My mother has always said the same thing to me," 

"And yet here you are travelling to Cloud City in the Bespin System. Very impressive," Echo complimented her. "This is obviously your first time travelling away from your star system."

 Clarke rolled her eyes. "Yeah, and I don't think I'm going to be a huge fan of spending hours and hours on flights through hyperspace. Let alone stopping in sketchy spaceports."

  Echo gave a warm chuckle. "It is best to accept it, Clarke. It is all apart of spacing around the galaxy. And if my calculations are correct, we will be in hyperspace for at least twenty hours before we reach the Bespin System."

  _Twenty hours....._ Clarke felt that agonizing weight of dismay plunging into her gut.  She slowly inhaled a breath, and then exhaled. "Well...." She muttered. "At least I won't be flying alone this time."

"Yes-and this time you will have me as a travelling companion," Echo assured her with a smile.

 This made Clarke feel slightly better. A twenty hour flight to the Bespin System, travelling with a member of a different species, one whom, eventually would be a colleague, and possibly a classmate of Clarke at Cloud City University. While boarding the transfer flight with Echo, Clarke began to feel very pleased, and proud of herself that she had by chance, befriended the Twi'Lek. Her next thought was of the anticipation of the other friends or acquaintances that she might make.

 

-End of Chapter 5-

 

 

 

 

 

  

  

 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

  

 


	6. Flight to Bespin

 

 Clarke had been surprised at how spacious her cabin aboard the passenger freighter was. There was at least three feet of floor space between the seats opposite of each other.After only an hour into the flight from Terminus, Clarke had settled into the cabin and had stretched out on the seats. It was estimated to be a twenty hour flight to the Bespin System and so Clarke decided to get comfortable for a while. Her mind had still been charged by her first experience travelling outside of her own star system for the first time, and visiting unfamiliar orbital spaceport where she she picked up an unexpected companion at the spaceport- a Twi'Lek named Echo, who was also on route to Cloud City to attend the University. An hour into the flight from Terminus, Clarke's mind finally began to shut down and she had drifted off to sleep to the sound of the ship's hyperdrive. 

 There was almost something tranquil about the background noise from the engines of a starship as it travelled through hyperspace. Eight hours would pass since Clarke had departed Terminus Orbital Station on the transfer flight to the Bespin System. Since she had boarded the flight, she had removed her shoes to allow her feet to finally breathe, and she had hung up her jacket and removed her long-sleeved shirt. Even in the black tank top that she had worn underneath, the air inside the cabin felt slightly cool. She figured it was because she had been wearing a layer of heavy clothing, including her jacket. She had slept only five of those hours. In those passing eight hours in hyperspace, Clarke and Echo would begin to develop a more closer bond.

"Well, this is it," Clarke murmured to herself. She lay stretched out in her seat on her back and staring up at the dimmed overhead lights.

 On the seating opposite of her, the Twi'Lek named Echo, was also stretched out. The Twi'Lek had been staring screen of her small datapad that she held in one hand. At Clarke's comment, Echo turned her head and she looked over at Clarke.

"What is?" The Twi'Lek asked.

  Clarke sat up in her seat using her elbows and lowered her feet to the floor. She pushed her strands of long blonde hair over her shoulders. "Do you remember the feeling when you travelled away from your homeworld for the first time?" Clarke asked Echo.

 At the question, Echo placed her datapad aside on the small table and she sat up in her seat. Having removed and hung up the brown jacket that she had worn in the spaceport, the Twi'Lek wore a tight, black sleeveless shirt beneath. Clarke had to admire how toned the Twi'Lek's pale arms looked....and how her cleavage pressed against the material from underneath.

 _No. Do NOT._ The words almost resounded in Clarke's mind when suddenly became aware of where her thoughts had drifted and she felt a shot of discomfort. She immediately kicked her thoughts back into order.

"Of course," Echo, meanwhile, replied, fixing her grey eyes on Clarke. "I remember first travelling away from the planet that I grew up on."

  Clarke wasn't quite following. "I don't understand. You didn't grow up on the homeworld of your species?"

" _Ryloth-_ it's the homeworld of my species," Echo told her. "The planet that I was born and grew up on is called _Kal'Shebbol_. It's an Outer Rim planet, like your own. It hosts a large Twi'Lek population."

  Clarke nodded. "A colony." She then grew a bit more curious. "What is Ryloth like?" She asked Echo.

  Echo only shook her head as she settled to lay back in her seat. "I wouldn't know," The Twi'Lek said, not appearing too bothered. "I have no desire to visit there. At least not in the near-future."

 Clarke was taken with a bit of surprise. She wanted to ask Echo what her reasons were behind her refusal to visit her true homeworld, but Clarke sensed that they may have been personal and so she stopped there.

"It is more common than you think," Echo explained. "Some that are born and raised on distant planets have little or no desire to see the homeworld of their species. I assume that isn't also the same with you?"

 Clarke gave a shrug. "Well, I've always wanted to see Earth. Some Marsians share a sentimental connection to our ancestral homeworld, but many others don't. I think it has a lot to do with the War for Autonomy."

 "And do you also share this... sentimental connection?" The Twi'Lek asked her. 

 Clarke nodded. "Yes. In a sense. Only I've never really considered Earth to be my true  _homeworld_. My homeworld has always been, and always will be Mars- the fourth planet outward in my home system."

 Echo smiled. "Do you mean it is a colony?"

 Clarke gave a chuckle. "Yeah. That was how it began- as a colony- centuries ago when the first colonial ships from Earth landed on Mars. Now there is a population of several billion."

  Echo pulled herself up from her seat. She crossed the floor and shifted herself onto the seat beside Clarke. The Twi'Lek sat seemingly close enough so that Clarke felt the back of her neck prickle.

"So why it you have you never visited your Earth yet?" Echo asked Clarke, narrowing her eyes in curiosity. "You don't have any desire to see the world where your own ancestors came from?"

 Clarke shook her head. "No. It's not that at all." She gave a long sigh. "My family... well...we had been planning to, but...things suddenly changed."

  She was feeling very reluctant to admit to Echo that it was the sudden demise of her father Jake Griffin aboard the Phobos Station above Mars two years prior, that played the crucial factor in her family not visiting Earth as they had planned. 

 Clarke then reversed gears. "But anyways," She said, returning to her original point. "What I was getting at was, this is now the farthest that I've been from home." 

  Echo nodded. "Terminus was the farthest that I have travelled away from Kal'Shebbol."

 Still sitting up, Clarke relaxed her head against the seat behind her. "I've never even been down to the surface of Terminus, but is it really anything spectacular?"

 Echo chuckled. "I'm afraid not, Clarke. The planet has one giant spaceport city- Terminal City, it's called. You could call it the planetary capital. You see, most who arrive at Terminus to do business, land in Terminal City. It certainly isn't Coruscant, but it is a..decent city...by most standards in the Outer Rim. It certainly exceeds other places, but it isn't Coruscant either. But in this corner of the Outer Rim, Terminus is important."

 Clarke took a moment to contemplate that. Terminus had long been considered a gateway into the wider galaxy. She was also aware that the Federacy had some influence on the planet. A Federacy embassy was established in Terminal City, from what she understood. Influence on Terminus also meant that the Federacy had also made numerous investments in Terminal City, which included significant urban development. This was largely why Terminus had began attracting Federacy citizens. 

"What influenced your decision in travelling away from your homeworld to study at the University in Cloud City?" Echo then asked, switching subjects. 

"I've been asked that a lot," Clarke said quietly.  "I just couldn't get myself to enrol at the University of Arcadia back home....not without my father being alive to see it happen. Arcadia University is one of the top academic intuitions on Mars. I wanted to study there. That was what my father would have wanted, but..." She paused and shook her head with a sigh of resentment. "After what happened, it just didn't make much sense anymore. Arkadia's University was practically the only school on Mars that I would choose from. And I couldn't go away to Earth to study."

 Echo was silent for a moment. "What was your reason for declining to choose Earth?"

  Clarke thought for a moment. "Because of this stupid process of having to apply for a study permit," She told Echo. "Never mind. It's complicated. But we were supposed to visit Earth together as a family. Only that all changed after the incident." 

  Clarke paused again as she thought back. "And so when the time came, I decided to take the huge step and go abroad. Of course, I couldn't even begin to afford to go away to Coruscant, but Cloud City University is supposed to be one of the best institutions in the Outer Rim, and so I settled with that. I can tell you that I don't regret doing it."

 Once Clarke had finished, Echo remained silent for a long moment as she had listened, before she placed a gentle hand on Clarke's arm.

"I'm very sorry, Clarke," The Twi'Lek said quietly and with sympathy. "I can see that you had to make some very difficult decisions, but I'm sure that your own father would have been just as proud of you."

 Clarke shook her head. "Thanks, Echo," She said with sincerity. "I know he would have been. But you don't need to be sorry. What happened, happened."

"You are very fortunate to able to have this opportunity," Echo told her. "We both are."

"Did...something happen to you?" Clarke asked her carefully. "If you don't want to tell me, it's totally fine with me."

  Echo gave a sad smile. "I come from a good family on Kal'Shebbol," She explained to Clarke. "We are not wealthy, but we fair well and earn a decent living."

 Clarke wasn't quite understanding. "And what's wrong with that?"

  At the question, Echo appeared to avoid Clarke's gaze.  "There is nothing wrong with that at all," She replied, staring at the floor. "There are no.... distinguished academic institutions on Kal'Shebbol. Only those who can afford to travel elsewhere to pursue their studies, do so. None of the institutions on Kal'Shebbol met my needs, and so I felt I was left with two simple choices, Clarke: Earn enough to go and pursue my studies offplanet and make something of myself worthwhile ...or earn my living as a dancer in the palace of some Hutt Crime Boss, or in some seedy nightclub. I can promise you that that is what would have happened."

Clarke stared at Echo. "But does it actually happen?" She asked, referring to Echo's remark about becoming a dancer. "Do the females of your kind tend to go into those lines of employment?"

"More than you realize, Clarke," Echo answered in a bitter voice. "The females of my species have long been in high demand for those forms of entertainment. Many are either sold into slavery, or they enter the line of work willingly."

 This time, Clarke tried to calmly rationalize. "If you're suggesting that humans are-"

"Humans?" Echo cut in. "I never said anything specifically about humans, Clarke. Species have waged wars on one another, conquered or enslaved one another, or those of other species, since the dawn of galactic civilization. And yes, _humans_ also. Were you going to imply that your people haven't done the same to each other?"

 Clarke was left silent. Echo had a solid point. And true enough.

"My people have done the same," Clarke said truthfully. "Back on Earth, for thousands of years, before the Federacy even came into existence. We've done horrible things to each other, Echo. Do you really think our entire history up until today is a rosy picture? Believe me, it's not. And then almost three hundred years ago, there was the Marsian War for Autonomy. I won't go into that, but the point is, my people didn't exactly come together and unite, even after we took to the stars. It took the formation of the Federacy to finally bring Earth and Mars together under one banner. Even today we still have issues."

 Clarke paused to take in a breath and then exhale longly.  "And no, I'm not saying that humans are a perfect species. We aren't. My people especially. I think I've made that point clear enough."

"No," Echo agreed shortly. "They aren't. That is true enough. No species is. But for eons, it has been humans who have a played a dominant role in the shaping of this galaxy today, whether you choose to accept it as fact or not. The Republic is the greatest example. Some have referred to as a monument to human supremacy."

 Clarke disagreed. Humans may have been largely responsible for the foundation of the Galactic Republic, but she rejected the notion that it was a monument to human supremacy. She decided not to express this opinion to Echo as to avoid an argument, but she did say, "It just shows that the Republic isn't perfect either."

 Echo gave a scoff. "Far from it- if you take into consideration, the many political maneuverings and fringe lawlessness of a Republic that is stretched too thin across this galaxy to accommodate its expansive membership."

 Clarke shook her head. "That's not something I ever really thought about. Hell. Earth doesn't even have membership in the Republic." 

 The Twi'Lek gazed at Clarke solemnly. "You see, Clarke, where you are situated on the edge of the galaxy, I'm sure it is very easy for your people to dismiss most galactic affairs as of no real concern. And understandably so. You are far enough from the Core Worlds. Why should your Federacy care anything for the political nexus on Coruscant?"

"We don't really," Clarke admitted. "The Federacy is far more concerned with its own affairs." 

"Exactly," Echo nodded. "Your Federacy is a just a very small piece of this galaxy. A very small piece, but nonetheless, it is still a part of the galaxy. It is still young, is it not? And perhaps... fragile in some ways. I believe that your people still have much more to accomplish-among themselves- if they wish to play a larger role in the galaxy, and for the better."

 Clarke was left in silence for a long moment to process what Echo had told her. The Twi'Lek made perfect sense and Clarke would contemplate this for a long time afterwards.

"Echo, I understand that you didn't want to be seen as, or treated as...as just an object," Clarke said sincerely. "I definitely wouldn't want you to be sold into slavery either."

 Echo chucked. "You're a good human, Clarke. That is my opinion."

 Clarke smiled back. "And I appreciate your opinion, Echo."

  The conversation then shifted to a lighter subject.

"You know, I just realized that I still have an available period on my schedule for a non-compulsory course," Clarke told Echo. "I was thinking of registering for a secondary language class. I wonder if the language of your species is offered?"

"I doubt that," Echo said with a laugh. "The Twi'Leki language is not as prevalent as Galactic Basic. And it can be difficult for non-Twi'Leks to master."

"Galactic Basic..." Clarke was familiar with the term for the most wide spoken language in the galaxy . "You mean English."

"Is that what it is known as in your home system? As _English_?"

 Clarke nodded. "English is one of the dominant languages  in my home system- well, at least it is on Mars. I know that there are hundreds of other languages and dialects spoken on Earth."

 Echo got to her feet and moved back across to her own seat. "Perhaps there will be a class on Huttese offered,"  She suggested, referring to the language of the Hutt species. "It is the second most common language in the galaxy after Basic."

"Maybe," Clarke said with some consideration. "It might become useful one day."

 She was beginning to feel tired again and was having less else to say to Echo for the present. Clarke figured her fatigue was from the effect of being in hyperspace. It would still be hours before they reached Cloud City and so she made the cabin her temporary home. She lay back and stretched out on her seat. She was prepared to catch another round of shut eye and she hoped that when she woke up again, they would be out of hyperspace at the Bespin System.

 --------

"Clarke. Wake up." 

 Clarke had slept again for several more hours, but she wasn't sure as to how long. At some point though, she was awakened again by Echo gently nudging her shoulder.    

"Mmm?" Clarke mumbled sleepily. She opened her eyes and squinted up at the pale-skinned Twi'Lek standing over her.  "Are we there? Are we at Cloud City already?"

 Echo smiled. "Almost," The Twi'Lek told her. "We've arrived out of hyperspace at the Bespin System. They made the announcement while you were still asleep."

  At hearing this, Clarke was instantly wide awake. _Finally!_ She thought, relieved to been done with just one more duration of hyperspace travel. 

 She eagerly sat up on the seat where she had been sleeping and she shifted to look out the cabin's viewport. For the first time in many hours, she saw the familiar black void of space, but she couldn't get a glimpse of the planet Bespin itself.

"How close are we?" Clarke asked as she lowered her feet to the floor again. "We must have come out of hyperspace right at the planet."

  Echo smiled and motioned for her to follow. "Come. Let's go up to the observation deck." 

 "Good idea." Clarke eagerly got to her feet and she pulled on her long-sleeved shirt. She left her jacket hanging up in her cabin as she followed the Twi'Lek out into the long and spacious-looking passageway of the freighter. The passenger freighter had three rows of cabins- port side, starboard side, and bulkhead. Clarke and Echo picked out a port side cabin after they had boarded their flight. As they moved down to the passageway towards the rear of the freighter, Clarke saw that many of the doors to cabins were closed and presumably were occupied by passengers. Other passengers were already emerging from their temporary quarters, preparing to debark from their flight. From the cabin level, Clarke and Echo had to ascend a metal staircase to the freighter's observation deck. They crossed the deck to the large viewing port, and there Clarke saw Bespin for the first time- a brownish yellow- coloured gas planet. There was nothing too spectacular-looking about it. Clarke thought that the planet's colour reminded her a bit of the planet Venus, the third planet of the Sol System. Bespin's atmosphere was quickly filling the viewport as the freighter began its descent to make entry into the planet's skies. 

  In minutes the void of space gave way as the freighter made entry through the atmosphere and into skies of Bespin.

"Whoa!" Clarke's reaction came more from relief than surprise at the new sunlight piercing her eyes.  As the sunlight exploded through the viewport window and flooded the observation deck, she had to briefly shield her eyes with one hand. 

 Once her eyes had readjusted, Clarke could now introduce herself to the sight of the strange new skies of an unfamiliar planet. How long had it been since she had last seen atmospheric skies? Not since the morning that she had taken off from Arcadia City's Starport. That was two days ago at least. And now she stood with Echo on the observation deck of a passenger freighter upon entering the skies of Bespin. The backdrop of the sky was stained a deep orange where the sun blazed. It was a beautiful sight to behold. Clarke wasn't even sure of the time anymore, whether it was currently the early morning, or the late evening. She was far less concerned about that and sh now had the growing feeling of anticipation and excitement inside her that she was finally nearing her destination. 

"Clarke." Echo nudged her. "Look. See that?"

  Clarke looked to where the Twi'Lek was pointing out the viewport. Far off in the skies, a saucer-shaped object could be seen floating above the thick sea of swirling orange and grey clouds.

"Yeah..... I definitely see it," She murmured to Echo.

 Clarke didn't even have to question what she was seeing. It was obvious enough. For a long moment, her mouth hung half-open as she became transfixed on the sight of Cloud City that began to fill the viewport as the freighter neared. Clarke could see the spikes of the skyline, appearing tiny atop of the structure, and she began to comprehend just how massive the city actually was. It felt completely surreal that she was looking upon a strange, floating city above the clouds for the first time in her life.

"We're here, Clarke," Echo said to her with excitement on her voice. "We've finally arrived at Cloud City."

 Clarke could only nod.  _And finally!_ She thought. 

  She suddenly remembered to snap a photo or two of the floating city as the freighter neared. Clarke took in to account her two flights through hyperspace, not to mention a brief transfer at an orbital spaceport, totalled for a combined thirty-five hours at least- to her own estimation, just to reach the Bespin System. Entering the vicinity of Cloud City, Clarke already felt the relief washing through her. It was hard for her to feel exhausted or weary after a long trip in that moment when she felt the excitement of finally arriving at a strange city floating above the skies of a gas giant. Arriving at Cloud City was only the beginning. Clarke's next thoughts would soon be of the Cloud City University campus. 

 Clarke turned to Echo. "What do we do after we land?" She asked. "Where we supposed to go from there?"

  Echo pulled out her personal datapad. Swiping her finger across the screen, the Twi'Lek appeared to be pulling up some information. "We are supposed to be landing at Platform 9117," She told Clarke. "It's in the Cloud City Skyport. From there we need to take one of the transit lines across the city to get to the campus."

"Well we'll get to the see city along the way!" Clarke said, positively, citing another advantage.

 --------

 When Clarke had last breathed in real air, it was on the morning that she had arrived at the Arcadia City Starport. The air of Bespin seemed surprisingly crisp as she and Echo stood on the outdoor platform as they awaited for the train to arrive in the station. Being on a floating city at a considerable atmospheric level, there was a mild chill on the air and so Clarke was glad she had worn her jacket.

 _You would never know you were on a floating city in the sky_ , Clarke thought.

She observed her surroundings curiously and with interest. It still felt surreal to her that she was waiting on outdoor train platform on Cloud City. She saw that there were many other commuters also awaiting their ride. The majority of them were humans, Clarke noted- no doubt ordinary residents of the city, going about their day. She couldn't pick out anyone who may also be headed for the campus. Clarke spotted, nearby, a pair of diminutive, porcine humanoids who appeared to have pink skin, upturned noses, white hair, and thick layers of jowls. The members of this species, she wasn't able to identify. By this point, Clarke had already become used to the sight of non-human species.

 Amid the low whistle of the wind blowing across the platform, she occasionally heard the sharp whine of ion engines from some atmospheric aircraft passing somewhere overhead. Even at Cloud City’s atmospheric level, the city didn’t experience high winds and Clarke assumed that it was because the city’s core was relatively shielded from the wind pressures by the clusters of buildings.

"I'm amazed that this many people would come to live in a place like Cloud City," Clarke commented to Echo.

"I believe that most of the city's population are workers, as opposed to ordinary residents," Echo told her. "This city began as a mining colony. Just think of the number of hands and resources required to maintain a floating city of this size."

 _And yet they were able to establish an academic institution in a place like this_ , Clarke thought.

  She looked over towards the rail track when she heard the sound of the high-speed train pulling into the station. It was actually an single, sleek-looking grey car, rather than a train. It was at least sixty-feet in length that could carry up to one hundred passengers. As soon as the car had in the station, the doors to the car slid open and the commuters waiting on the platform began to file towards the doors. At the sound of the car pulling into the station, Clarke had already made her move towards the edge of the platform with Echo right behind her. Clarke figured that it wouldn't be too long a commute across the city to the university campus, but she figured she would at least try and earn a window seat with the opportunity to take a barrage of photos of the cityscape.

 Clarke and Echo found a spot on the car next to the window and took seats directly across from one another. There was the sound of the doors chiming and the doors slid shut. The car began to pull up the station smoothly without any rattling or bumps, and quickly picked up speed. As the car made its route along the track, Clarke was able to get a view out the window of the city's streets and the light flow of pedestrian traffic. In the distance, she could get a clear view of the cluster of cylinder-shaped towers of Cloud City's skyline against the backdrop of the stained yellow sky. According to the electronic map above the doors, this transit system looped all the way around the core of the city. There were at least five minutes between stops. North Platform 5102, where Clarke would get off, was within reach of the campus.

 While she had been entranced by the view of Cloud City, she had barely noticed that someone had come and taken a seat next to her.

 Clarke looked over to find a girl around her age, who had a taken a seat next to her. The girl appeared human- possibly seventeen or just having turned eighteen. Clarke though her to be cute looking. The girl may have been only a few inches shorter. Her hair was as white-blonde as Clarke had ever seen on anyone, that flowed down past her shoulders. The girl also had a single braid in hair. She wore a long, tight-fitting, iron grey leather jacket. Judging just by the girl's clothing and her hairstyle, Clarke could tell right away that the girl was not from the Sol System. Of course not. She didn't expect to encounter any other Terrans this far from the Sol System and least of all, not on Cloud City.

"You don't mind if I take a seat here do you?" The girl asked Clarke in fluent Galactic Basic, or what Clarke knew as _English_ , back in the Sol System

"Oh-no, not at all!" Clarke answered, surprised to encounter another human who was not from the Sol System. "Are you heading to the Cloud City University campus by any chance?"

  The girl gave a smile. "I was going to ask you the same."

"Well, both of us are headed there actually," Clarke told the girl, nodding towards Echo sitting across from her. "It's the first year for both of us."

 She studied the strange human girl for a moment with curiosity and wondered where she came from.

"Good," The girl said with a nod of approval. "Then you wouldn't mind if I joined the both of you, would you?"

 Clarke shook her head. "You're more than welcome to," She offered. "I'm Clarke." She nodded towards the Twi'Lek seated across from her. "This is Echo. We travelled here together from Terminus."

 The girl nodded again. "My name is Costia," She said introducing herself. "I come from the Trigedan System in the Mid Rim." 

  _The Mid Rim,_ Clarke thought surprised. The Mid Rim was the next major galactic region inward from the Outer Rim. That much she knew. It was basic galactic geography. Clarke however, knew nothing of the Trigedan System or its people.

"And no doubt, the both of you are from the Outer Rim?" Costia guessed.

"Outer Rim and proud!" Clarke joked.

  Both Echo and Costia gave her funny looks, not understanding the humour. When that brief silence became a tad awkward, Clarke rolled her eyes with impatience. "Never mind! It was a joke!"

"So are you here alone, Costia?" Echo asked Costia curiously, changing the subject.

"Yes," Costia answered with a nod. "At least for now. A close friend of mine will also be attending first year at the university with me. We come from the same clan back on my homeworld. We were supposed to have travelled here together, but because of some circumstances, I travelled ahead of her. She will be arriving at Cloud City in another day or so."

"Well I'm sure we'll be seeing you around campus then," Clarke said pleasantly to Costia.

 

 

 

 -End of Chapter 6-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 


	7. Campus

  Even on a floating city as vast as Cloud City, Clarke was amazed at the size of the Cloud City University campus. She had arrived at the campus with Echo- a female Twi'Lek she had met and befriended back at Terminus Station, and had traveled with to the Bespin System. Upon arriving at Cloud City, Clarke and Echo had taken a transit route across the city to the Campus Transit Station where they arrived right at the Cloud City Campus. The campus itself may as well have taken up a third of Cloud City: Six student residential housing units, the administrative building, the student center, the recreational center, the library, and the faculty hall where classes were held, were all on one campus. According to the university's data that Clarke had reviewed, the School for Arts and Music was the only institution not on the same campus.

 Upon arriving on campus, Clarke and Echo went to register inside the student administrative building. They were also joined by Costia, another incoming student, a female human from Trigeda who they had met back at the transit station. Inside the registration area, there were ten separate lines forming at desks, all being serviced by administrative droids. Taking a spot in one of the lines with Echo and Costia, Clarke took a quick look around at the students around her. She couldn't differentiate between incoming first year students and returning students. Most of them were human, or at least appeared human, but there were also members of non-human species waiting in the lines.

Clarke felt more comfortable that the atmosphere in the registration area wasn't hushed. It was almost relaxed. Amid the low buzz of conversation around her, Clarke occasionally overheard the administrative droids behind the desks speaking in their robotic voices, using both Galactic Basic and various other dialects while assisting students. She looked ahead in her line and spotted a pair of female Twi'Leks, both with deep blue skin- something she had never seen before. There was something exotica about their appearance.

"Echo..." Clarke whispered to the pastry-skinned Twi'Lek beside her. "Up ahead. Those two Twi'Leks."

  Echo craned her neck slightly to the side to get a look at the pair of slim, blue-skinned female Twi'Leks towards the front of their line. "Yes," She said, not seeming too particularly surprised to see other members of her species. "Rutians- Twi'Leks with a blue phenotype are the most common among my species," She told Clarke. "Those with a red coloration are the most rare. I take it this is a new sight for you?"

 Clarke only shrugged apologetically. "Hey, I'm still new to the whole venturing out into the galaxy thing."

   Echo chuckled. "Fair enough." 

"Are they from the planet of your species?" Clarke asked her as she studied the pair of female Twi'Leks with some curiosity.

 Echo gave a shrug. "Perhaps. Although you wouldn't encounter as many Rutians on Kal'Shebbol as you would on Ryloth. Curious that they would choose Cloud City rather than enrol at the Ryloth Prime Academy. It is one of the best academic institutions on Ryloth."

"And do they train to become warriors at this institution?" Costia suddenly asked with some curiosity.

  The girl from the planet Trigeda had been silent for the last few minutes while waiting in line, but her unusual question surprised Clarke a little. Echo, on the other hand, seemed less bothered by the question.

"My species does have a proud and honourable warrior tradition," The Twi'Lek said. "But the Prime Academy focuses on academics instead. Had I been raised on Ryloth, the homeworld of my species, I might have become trained as a warrior."

"How is that decided?" Clarke asked her, puzzled.

"It is determined by certain qualifications in the early childhood of a Twi'Lek," Echo told her. "Is it also similar among your people?"

  Clarke shook her head. "Eighteen is the age eligible to enter into Federacy Service- at least on Mars. I don't know if it's the same on Earth. But service isn't mandatory."

"On my homeworld," Costia said. "Among my clan, when a child reaches a certain age, that is when they begin their training as warriors. You see, becoming a warrior doesn't mean just learning to train with weapons and to fight. We believe that a warrior must also become educated and learn all that they can, even if it means journeying away from their homeworld."

 Clarke studied the Trigedan girl for a moment, interested in what Costia had just said. Costia's long silvery-colored hair reached a few inches past her shoulders. Her slim figure didn't suggest warrior-status, but Clarke wasn't going to judge. She was curious to learn a bit more.

"And that is why you chose to leave Trigeda," Echo guessed. "As part of your training."

  Costia nodded. "Some choose to go away from Trigeda."

 The three had been conversing quietly. Naturally, over the drone of conversations from the other lines, it would have been impossible for anyone standing towards the front of the line to have overheard her and Echo speaking. The pair of blue-skinned female Twi'Leks both happened to throw glances towards the back of the line. Both Twi'Leks made brief eye contact with Clarke, but neither of them acknowledged her with anything resembling a warm look- even for a brief second. Clarke wasn't terribly bothered by this. She didn't read any hostility in their vacant expressions, before the pair of Twi'Leks turned their backs again. Clarke watched as the female on the left appeared to learn towards her friend and whisper something in her ear. While neither Twi'Lek threw her any additional looks, Clarke still wondered for a moment if it was some remark directed towards her and she felt a spark of annoyance. Or maybe it was her imagination.

"I wonder if its us they're talking about?" Clarke muttered quietly to Echo.

"I would not worry too much, Clarke," Echo assured her quietly. "I promise you, you will find similar attitudes and behaviors among many species. We haven't began our semester yet, so it is best not to start off on bad terms with anyone so early."

"On Trigeda, so much as looking at someone the wrong way can get your throat cut," Costia put in.

  Clarke was a bit shocked at learning this. Echo's eyes widened in surprise. Costia made the statement casually enough, as if it were an ordinary occurrence on her homeworld. Clarke felt suddenly uneasy and she had to take a quick look around, hoping that no one had overheard the comment.

"Yeah well....this isn't Trigeda, so just don't cut anyone's throat on campus," She advised Costia in an undertone voice, a borderline whisper.

"No," Costia agreed. "And it would be dishonourable for any Trigedan to commit such an act while away in the stars. You see, Clarke, my homeworld may be... less hospitable than others, but my people do uphold a strong sense of honour. 'Blood must have blood'. It's an old saying among my people."

 Clarke was about to ask Costia to elaborate on that saying but she was interrupted by the robotic voice of the administrative droid that was servicing the line. " _Next in line._ " 

  Having reached the front of the line, Clarke went ahead of Echo and Costia. Behind the desk sat a bronze-colored administrative-droid model operating a computer. As Clarke approached the desk, the droid turned in its seat to face her.

" _Welcome."_ The droid addressed Clarke in Galactic Basic in a masculine-programmed voice. Although its metallic face was devoid of any expression, its tone was pleasant sounding and every syllable was sharp. " _I am 3T88 and I will be assisting you today."_ The droid then turned to face the computer. " _Please provide your full name, first and second._ "

 For a moment it felt strange to Clarke, being serviced by an administrative droid, as opposed to a living sentient being.

"Clarke Griffin." Clarke provided the administrative droid named 3T88 her full name. "And I'm a first year student here."

  She waited a moment as 3T88 entered some data into the computer with its metallic fingers. She was tempted to try and be friendly and converse with the droid, but then she reminded herself that 3T88 was programmed strictly to assist students in registering, nothing else.

" _Please identify your species and star system of origin_."

"I'm a human from the Earth System." Clarke told the droid, a little perplexed that the university would require that information in their databank. 

 3T88 tapped his metallic fingers on some buttons to pulled up data on the computer screen.

" _Clarke Griffin of the Earth System. "_ 3T88 recited  from the computer. " _Year of Birth 32BBY._ _Age 18. Issued Student Identification Code S-234556. Academic Status: Pending First Year. Please list any additional languages or dialects that you are fluent in."_

  Clarke shook her head. "I only speak Basic." She then asked. "Are there any languages classes offered?" _  
_

_"If you wish to enrol in a course for an additional language or dialect, Huttese is offered and is currently available,"_ 3T88 told her, referring to the language of the slug-like species the Hutts. " _You may refer to the department of education."  
_

 _Huttese,_ Clarke thought. She had already considered picking up a class for a secondary language, but she didn't lean towards Huttese as one of her preferences of languages. The language sounded repulsive to her. In that moment she put the decision on hold. According to 3T88, there were still a few days remaining until the deadline for students to make any additional changes to their time period schedule.

 Once Clarke had received her new student ID card as well as her dorm access card, the registration process was completed.

"We should go over to the student centre," Echo suggested, once they were outside again and were heading towards the campus quad. "We can get something to eat and compare time schedules."

"I also need to send off a holo transmission," Costia said, as if reminding herself.

"Back to your homeworld?" Echo asked.

"Yes-to my friend know that I have already arrived at the campus," Costia told her. "I'll be waiting to meet her when she arrives here. I would guess that she is already preparing to leave Trigeda. She won't be able to receive any holo transmissions once she is on route through hyperspace."

 Clarke had realized that she had far less of an appetite at that moment. She had gone through nearly two days of space travel, only a few hours of shuteye during hyperspace transition, and now she was feeling the effects of space lag. While Echo and Costia were speaking, Clarke's mind had wandered and she didn't really hear much of the conversation. She already felt as if her mind was slowly beginning to shut down from exhaustion.

"Actually, I'm going to head over to my dorm to get settled in first," Clarke decided.

"Are you sure, Clark?" Echo asked, a little surprised as they entered the quad. "You haven't eaten much since we left Terminus Station."

"Don't worry. I'll get something to eat later," Clarke promised the Twi'Lek, feeling slightly impatient to get moving again. "I've been dragging this stupid luggage case behind me ever since I walked out my front door to leave for the star port. And right now I'm really feeling to ready to crash."

 Echo stared at her for a moment looking a bit puzzled. "Crash?" She repeated, obviously not familiar with the term. "Crash into what?"

 Clarke chuckled. "Not literally crash into anything. It's a slang term from my home system. It just means feeling exhausted or the need to wind down, you know?"

"That is a very strange way of saying it," Costia remarked. "Your people must make use of many strange terms."

"Yeah, like you wouldn't believe," Clarke said with a roll of her eyes. She then turned to head in a different direction.  "Listen, I'm going to catch up with you guys later."

 After saying a quick goodbye to Echo and Costia, Clarke separated for her residential building. Over time, she found that she had enjoyed the Twi'Lek's company up until they had arrived at campus, but she wasn't terribly disappointed over having to separate from Echo for the time being. For one thing, Clarke was almost certain that she would be seeing the Twi'Lek around campus. Costia- the human girl from the planet Trigeda, seemed decent enough, but Clarke wasn't quite sure what to make of her just yet . As well, Orientation would be taking place in a few days after students, particularly the arriving first year students, had time to settle into their new living spaces and make whatever adjustments to their class schedules. While Clarke wasn't certain as to what Orientation fully entailed, she already knew that it would be mandatory for all incoming students to attend. Clarke was almost certain that she would meet up with Echo on the day of Orientation.

 After splitting up from Echo and Costia, Clarke made her way across the campus quad to Residential Hall B where she would be living. The grounds of the quad were ringed along the edges by a smooth concrete walkway. Another pair of walkways intersected at a circular concrete paving in the center of the quad. Since landing in Cloud City, Clarke had not seen as much green space as she did- not since leaving her own suburban neighbourhood back home. She couldn't tell if the quad's lawn was real or artificial, but she guessed artificial. There were small trees lining the walkways that Clarke also assumed were artificial. 

 _This must be why Cloud City University is considered one of the best academic institutions in the Outer Rim,_ Clarke thought as she admired at the beauty of the campus grounds. 

 Making her way across the quad, Clarke observed some of the activity around her. Students were strolling the walkways in pairs or in small groups. Others were seated on the benches along the walkways engaged in conversation. These were all students returning to school for another year and so they all looked comfortable settled in. Everyone looked to be casually dressed and Clarke was glad that she wouldn't have to abide by a student dress code. Needless to say that it had not been the same in the years that she had attended secondary school. Clarke still couldn't help but feeling slightly awkward and out of place as she crossed the quad. Dragging her luggage case behind her, she wondered for a moment if it signalled that she was new. If it did, no one gave any indication.

 _Get over it, Clarke,_ She scolded to herself. _It's university, not secondary school._

 Once Clarke had found her way to Residential Hall B, she paused once to check her wallet to make sure her new dorm access card was still where she had placed it after she had registered.  Clarke almost felt like she was checking into some fancy hotel rather than a student dorm. Her new residence did remind her of a fancy hotel than a student dorm. The lobby on the ground floor where Clarke entered, had a lounge area with comfortable seating. The lobby was active with students congregating together. Clarke assumed that most of them were returning students. A large viewing screen on the wall was broadcasting live the HoloNet News Network and streaming news from around the galaxy. A handful of students, all humans, seated in the lobby, had their attention fixed on the screen. Clarke felt her curiosity spike and she wandered over to observe the viewing screen for a moment.

" _....bringing the allegation before the Galactic Senate that the Trade Federation has launched an unprecedented invasion of the Naboo System,_ " The news anchor, a female human with short dark hair, spoke in a smooth Coruscanti accent. " _The Jedi Council has...."_

 Clarke wasn't tuned into events taking place around the galaxy and so that bit of news wasn't much significance to her. Turning away, she crossed the lobby to make her way to the turbo-lift elevator. She made herself aware of the intimidating looking security droid posted behind the control-panel desk. That was when she hesitated. She would have to pass by the security droid to get to the turbo-lift. The droid had to be aware of the coming and going of all dorm residents. Because Clarke was an incoming student, she wondered if she had to show her identification to the security droid first. She carefully approached the grey control-panel desk.

"Excuse me?" Clarke said instinctively to get the droid's attention.

  The security droid raised its head and observed Clarke through its photoreceptors. " _Present your student identification."_ The droid instructed her in basic.

 Clarke flinched at the security droid's deep, masculine-programmed voice. It seemed more like a command than an instruction.

 _At least he said "please",_ Clarke thought as she withdrew her student identification hard. She felt the droid could almost have been assigned to a detention centre or a military installation, and not a campus dorm hall.

 She presented her student identification card to the security droid. This time she knew better than to try and make some harmless, idle conversation, especially not with a security droid. This was a campus security droid after all. She watched as the droid tapped some buttons on the control panel with its long metallic fingers to pull up some data on the computer screen.

" _You are cleared. Proceed to Floor Ten, Room 182."_ The droid instructed, once it had verified Clarke's student identification.

 Feeling relieved that that part was out of the way, Clarke made her way over to one of the four turbo-lift elevators where a cluster of students were waiting for their lift. One of the elevators, the first one from the left, chimed and the doors slid open. As a handful of students, humans, streamed out, and those already waiting, immediately moved for the doors to catch their lift. She grabbed a space near to the doors of the fourth elevator. It was only another moment before the elevator arrived on the main floor. Clarke dragged her luggage bag into the elevator behind her. She wouldn't be riding the elevator alone. A group of five students, three boys and two girls, also stepped onto the elevator and selected their assigned floors.  As they stepped onto the elevator, they threw Clarke some curious looks but that was all. 

 “...They sound like typical Corellians," One of the students, a tall, blonde-haired boy was saying to one of his friends. "Think they know better than everyone else.”

  The elevator doors slid shut and the transport began to ascend slowly. The group of student proceeded with their conversations. While Clarke couldn't care less if the group barely acknowledged her, at the least some of the details she picked up in the conversations sounded interesting.

"...if you ever decide to fly something like a cargo freighter," The blonde-haired boy was saying to his friend. "You could earn yourself a decent amount of credits. More than you could flying a T-16.”

"Well you can still get more of a thrill flying a T-16 than you could a cargo freighter!" A dark-haired boy joked to his blonde-haired friend and they both chuckled.

 _A T-16..._ Clarke thought, when the term struck her as familiar. "The T-16 Skyhopper," She said, cutting into the conversation without thinking. "I've know of that airspeeder model."

  The two male students both looked over at her in surprise, as if suddenly realizing she was present.

"Well whatever corner of the galaxy you come from, you had better have!" The blonde-haired boy declared. "The T-16s are a common sight around the galaxy. You don't visit a civilized system without seeing at least one Skyhopper. "

 Clarke thought briefly of back home. Whenever she went sandboarding out on the red dunes outside of Arcadia City, she would occasionally spot a pair of T-16s streaking above and performing zigzag maneuvers. Due to tight regulations by the Federacy, Skyhoppers were one of the few civilian aircraft that were imported to the Sol System from the galaxy. Clarke's friend Finn Collins had once claimed that the T-16s were more common on Mars than on Earth. What Clarke knew was that you had to be licensed pilot, as well as have a permit, to own a T-16.

"Yeah, just don't play engine jockey with one," The dark-haired boy advised Clarke. "Otherwise- whammo! You'll be leaving your mark on the side of some canyon wall- if you get my drift."

  Clarke gave an uncomfortable nod. "Thanks...." She said, feeling slightly weirded out by the boy's cautioning.

  The elevator chimed when the transport stopped at the fourth floor. Four of the students, including the two boys, stepped off the elevator onto their assigned floor. Once the elevator doors slid shut again and the transport began to ascend again, Clarke was left with one of the remaining students, this one a girl, with flowing, shoulder-length dark hair and a slightly tanned-tone to her skin. Clarke noted that the girl's most striking feature was the pair of odd-looking tattoos around the left side of her face.

"Are you a first year student?" The girl asked her in fluent basic.

 Clarke nodded, figuring the girl was just trying to be friendly. "Yes. I just arrived on campus." Immediately, she realized that her answer would have made it look obvious enough to the girl, and so she quickly added, "As you can probably tell."

 The girl gave a chuckle. "I can see that." She then introduced herself. My name is Emori, by the way. Emori Sandfire."

 "Clarke," Clarke said introducing herself. "Clarke Griffin. It's nice to meet you, Emori."

  She refrained from inquiring about Emori's facial tattoos.

"Likewise, Clarke," Emori told her smiling. "Oh- and don't mind Jeren. He's a big T-16 enthusiast."

  Clarke realized that Emori was referring to the taller, dark-haired boy whose name appeared to be Jeren. "You know him then?" She asked Emori.

 Emori nodded. "Both of us are in the second year. We also come from the same homeworld- Tattooine". She looked Clarke up and down quickly. "And what system are you from?"

"My homeworld is Mars," Clarke answered. "The fourth planet in the Earth System. And definitely not a backwater planet. Far from it, actually-compared to your homeworld."

  Realizing her error, she quickly apologized in case Emori took offense. "Sorry. That wasn't the right thing to say. It's just that I grew up learning galactic geography. I've studied and learned about different planets, so I do know a thing or two about Tattooine."

 Emori gave a mirthless-sounding laugh. "Well then you probably already know that it's a big hunk of nothing, orbiting twin suns. You won't find a whole lot there resembling civilization. It's hard to earn a decent living- maybe compared to where you come from. My family owns a moisturizer farm and we sell water. And on a planet like Tattooine, water comes as a very valuable substance and not cheap. If you can afford the parts for vaporators, you can earn something of a living collecting and selling water."

 Listening to Emori, Clarke suddenly felt reluctant to admit just how privileged she actually was, being born on the fourth planet in the Earth System as a citizen of the Federacy.

"I can see why you left Tattooine and came all the way to the Bespin System," She said to Emori with understanding.

  Emori gave a shrug. "A lot of us dream of leaving Tattooine at a young age. I know I did. Not everyone can afford to." She studied Clarke curiously. "You look like you come from a developed world. Why come all the way to the Bespin System?"

"I could have pursued my post-secondary education back on Mars," Clarke admitted. "But I decided I wanted to see the galaxy instead."

"And so you chose Cloud City?" Emori asked with some surprise.

"Because I couldn't afford to go to Coruscant," Clarke told her. "Isn't it true that everyone who doesn't live in the Core Worlds, wishes they did? The University of Coruscant is supposed to be one of the most prestige schools in the entire galaxy. I would have enrolled there if I could have afforded it."

 Emori gave a bitter laugh. "Only that isn't an institution for Outer Rimmers like us," She said positively to Clarke.

  _Outer Rimmers like us._ Clarke sensed that it had to do with some existing discrimination in the Core Worlds towards Rimmers. She wanted to ask Emori about that, but the elevator chimed when the transport arrived on the eighth floor.

"This is my floor," Emori said when the doors slid open. She gave a friendly smile. "It was great meeting you, Clarke. I'm sure I'll be seeing you around campus." As Emori stepped off of the elevator, she looked back once more. "I know that being a first year on campus can be intimidating, but don't worry too much because you'll be learning a lot more on Orientation Day."

 Clarke said goodbye to Emori and the elevator doors closed again. The transport resumed its ascent to the tenth floor of the building. Stepping off of the elevator onto the tenth floor, Clarke was surprised to find the floor vibrant with activity. Student residents were  in the process of either moving in for the first time, or they were returning students preparing to settle back into campus life. Students were congregating in small groups as they caught up with friends and classmates. Clarke found herself amid a flurry of conversation and laughter and once more, she tried not to feel intimidated.

 _The other dorm halls must be exactly like this,_ Clarke thought as she made her way in the direction of her dorm room.

She would have expected to encounter a similar scene at any university residence back on Mars. At least those students who happened to be standing towards the middle of the hallway, felt compelled enough to step aside when they saw Clarke approaching and dragging her luggage case behind her. Clarke felt better that no one heckled her or stopped her to question her over her outlandish looking appearance. While all of the students she saw were human, Clarke wondered how many of them were from same homeworld. Observing the attires and comparing them to her own, she felt more outlandish. At least Emori was lucky enough to have friends and classmates from the same homeworld. By now Clarke had no expectations of encountering any other Terrans on campus.

 Clarke picked up other pieces of conversations as she moved down the hall.  
  
“....like a Kowakian lizard monkey operating a flamethrower.”  
  
“...one of those Astromech models with a bad motivator.”  
  
“....probably worth half a city block on Coruscant.”

  Clarke was assigned to Dorm Room 182. Coming to her assigned room, she swiped her dorm access card in the keycard panel beside the door. She felt fresh relief wash over her when she had finally entered her room. She took in a deep breath and sighed. No voices, no laughter, no more commotion. She relished the fresh silence that greeted her once the door had closed behind her. Looking around, Clarke's dorm room reminded her a lot of a small hotel room- white walls, a single bed, a closet, a small desk, and of course, a bathroom. Leaving her luggage case next to the bed, Clarke wandered over to the window. While there was no outdoor balcony, the window faced out over the campus's quad. The quad grounds appeared a lot more expansive from Clarke's vantage point.

 Clarke turned away from the window and inspected her spotless new dorm room. Now that she was finally inside her dorm room, her thoughts turned to unpacking, getting organized, and eventually having to prepare for her first day of classes, but at that moment she decided to put it off for the time being. She could have gone to check out the campus student centre and maybe catch up with Echo, but she was from being bothered to do that do anything else. After having travelled for at least two days, Clarke felt refreshed after showering and changing into clean nightwear.

 _Finally a decent place to sleep,_ Clarke thought as she crawled into her new bed. She was not yet on any school schedule, and so she was ready to catch up on hours of needed rest. She made a quick mental note to send a holo transmission back home to her mother. Shutting the bedside light, Clarke settled under the covers. Sleeping in a new bed in an entirely different environment hadn't full sunk in. She didn't think of anything else further and sleep had overtaken her almost instantly.

\-------

  Clarke wasn't certain how long she had slept. Her sleep had gone entirely undisturbed, and when she had awakened again, she felt well-rested. For a moment she had forgotten that she was not at home in her own bed. Her mind suddenly kick-started and she bolted up in bed wide awake, feeling disoriented.

 _What time is it? Am I late for anything? Was there a wake-up call? Do I need to be somewhere?_ Clarke's head swirled with confusion as the questions bombarded her.

 Clarke checked her watch. It was after two. Two in the afternoon or two in the morning? She then remembered that she was still following the time according to back home on Mars. Once her mind had rebooted, Clarke climbed out of bed and went over to the window. She threw apart the curtains and allowed the bright sunlight to flood into the room through the window.

 _That's a pleasant sight,_ Clarke thought as she admired how beautiful the quad grounds looked under the bright blue sky. From her window, she could see students strolling along the paths through the quad. She still wasn't certain of the time, but it had to have been late morning or midday. That meant that she had slept for the remainder of the previous day and throughout the night.

 Clarke paused again to debate what she should do next. Classes hadn't started yet and Orientation wasn't until the following day. She contemplated staying in her room to unpack and get organized first. As much eager as she was to catch up with Echo, Clarke was certain to meet up with the Twi'Lek at Orientation. After she had showered and put on fresh clothes- jeans and a light denim jacket over a white top, Clarke realized that felt hunger beginning to gnaw at her. The last time she recalled eating was during the flight to Bespin. Now Clarke decided that getting her things unpacked and organized could wait. She wanted to eat something first.

 _The student centre,_ Clarke figured. _Maybe Echo or Costia will be there._

This time Clarke found the hallway nothing short of deserted when she had left her room. It was a far cry from the other day when the hallway had been teeming with activity. It even felt strange not having her luggage case with her this time. There was a slight chill on the air when Clarke left the dorm hall, but the sun still hung brightly in the sky overhead. Fortunately on the main level just inside the doors, there was an electronic map detailing the layout of the campus.

It was a seven minute walk, crossing the campus from the residential dorm to get to the student centre. Clarke was amazed at how spacious and well-lit the centre looked. It appeared to have two levels. The cafeteria, of course, was located on the first level. Floor to ceiling windows allowed daylight to stream into the busy eating area. Clarke didn't know what was on the second level, but she guessed a lounge, or some area reserved for study space. _  
_

_So this is where half the campus hangs out in their spare time,_ Clarke thought.

 Naturally the student centre was busy, but that didn't come to Clarke as any surprise. There were mostly humans, but also members of non-human species. As she made her way into the cafeteria, she picked up the aroma of cooked foods that she couldn't begin to identify. Everything smelled appealing enough and it only raised Clarke's hunger. She was almost certain that there would not be any Terran foods on the menu. Clarke made her way to the food counter where a team of service droids working behind the counter in the kitchen, were busily prepping and serving meals to students waiting in line. 

 _What are they even serving?_ Clarke wondered.

"Clarke!" Clarke's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of someone calling her name from behind her. She turned and saw Echo hurrying up to her.

"Echo!" She said, surprised and delighted to see her new friend, the pale-skinned Twi'Lek. "There you are!"

"There _you_ are!" Echo said to her almost evenly. "I thought I recognized you." She shook her head. "Where have you been, Clarke?" The Twi'Lek demanded, looking confused. 

 This time it was Clarke's turn to become confused. "Um... I haven't been anywhere," She replied slowly.

"Well you must really have been exhausted because I haven't seen you in almost two days!" Echo declared.

  Clarke stared at her for a moment. "Wait. Are you saying I _slept_ for almost two days straight?" She asked, stunned.

 The Twi'Lek only shrugged. "It would be the only explanation."

  Clarke couldn't believe it. Cloud City Campus was an entirely new environment. In her exhaustion, she had no wake-up call, she had no alarm to set, and she was not yet on a fixed school schedule. That meant that she had slept freely and soundly for almost two days without a disruption.

"Holy shit, Echo! Why didn't you come and wake me up?" Clarke exclaimed in disbelief.

"You never told me your floor or your room number before we parted last!" Echo said in defense. "If you had, I would have certainly come to check in on you."

  Clarke gave a long sigh. "Two days of sleeping!" She muttered. "Wow." She couldn't recall a time where she had ever slept for two days straight, especially not during her years in secondary school.

"Come, Clarke." Echo grabbed her gently under the arm and guided her over to the line. "You need to eat something."

 "Did I miss anything?" Clake asked Echo as they took a spot in the line. "Anything important, that is?"

 The Twi'Lek shook her head. "Everyone seems to be still settling onto campus, catching up, and preparing for the first day of classes. You should be lucky that you didn't sleep for three days. You might have missed Orientation!"

  Clarke suddenly remembered that Orientation was scheduled for the following day. It was mandatory for all incoming students to attend.

  Clarke read down the electronic list of items that were currently being served during midday. Everything had originated from somewhere around the galaxy. The dishes being served included: _Smoked Kaadu Ribs,_ _Fried Endorian Tip-yip,_ _Yobshrimp Noodle Salad,_ _Roasted Endorian Tip-yip Salad,_ and _Felucian Garden Spread,_ among others. Having being entirely unfamiliar with the dishes, Clarke couldn't even begin to decide what to order. She made up her mind and went with the _Yobshrimp Noodle Salad,_ and a beverage called _Blumefruit Juice-_ a clear beverage the color of dark blue.

 Once she and Echo had grabbed an available table over by the floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out the campus grounds, Clarke immediately dug into her first taste of galactic cuisine. It was nothing like she had ever tasted back home.

"Wow," Clarke said to Echo with her mouth full. "This is amazing."

  Seated across from her at the small table, Echo stared at Clarke curiously.

"When was your last meal?" The Twi'Lek asked her as she picked at her Felucian Garden Spread.

 Clarke paused and thought for a moment. "Not since Terminus Station. I had small container of _Marsian Style Rice_ but that was about it. As much as it's my favorite, it doesn't beat this."

 Echo chuckled. "You may find you long for the food that you're accustomed to eating on your own homeworld."

  Clarke drained half of her glass of Blumefruit Juice to wash down her food and quench her thirst. "It doesn't hurt to eat healthy. It's better than fast food."

"Fast food?" Echo repeated, not familiar with the term. "I assume that is popular in your home system?"

"Yeah...in my home system, it's been part of our culture for centuries," Clarke explained. "Burgers, fries, sodas....not exactly the healthiest of foods. If you ever visited my home-world, you'll find plenty of fast food joints."

"If it isn't the healthiest, why is it consumed?" Echo asked, not understanding.

  Clarke could only shrug. "Mainly because it's cheap, convenient, and it tastes good."

"Rycrit Stew is one of my preference of dishes," Echo told her. "It is a common dish among my species. Speaking of which, we should visit the Cloud City's Tourist District one of these days. You will definitely have more opportunity to try other galactic cuisines."

 Clarke paused with her spoon half-way to her mouth. She stared across the table at Echo. "Wait...are we allowed to leave campus?" She asked, as she felt her interest spike.

 Echo nodded. "There is a Nautolan in second year who lives on the same floor as me. He told me yesterday that students are permitted off-campus on certain days, and if they have a pass card. She then added, "Costia had also suggested the same thing to me."

 Clarke felt a spark of excitement at the thought of taking a free day away from campus. It would be the perfect opportunity to sight-see around Cloud City.

 "Where is Costia anyway?" Clarke asked, taking a quick look around at the busy eating area. "Has she been here at all today?"

"She was here for a short period," Echo told her. "It was before before you came here. We spent some time in the recreational area before she had to go over to the administration building to meet a friend of hers who just arrived on campus."

"What is her friend's name?" Clarke happen to ask out of curiosity. "Did she say?"

"Her name is _Lana_ , or something like that," Echo told her. "I haven't met her. Costia may be helping her settle into her dorm right now, so it may be sometime before we see her. Perhaps tomorrow at Orientation. Clarke seeing as classes will be starting soon, we should try and arrange for times to get together, since it might be a bit difficult with conflicting schedules."

 Clarke nodded. "We'll definitely figure something else," She promised.

"Are you familiar with _Tabletop Holo Shooter,_ Clarke?" Echo asked, switching subjects.

  Clarke only shook her head, only assuming that this was some sort of game. "I can't say I've ever heard of it. "

"It's a fairly popular game in the galaxy," Echo told her. "Costia and I played a brief round of it over in the recreational area. After we eat, we'll go and play a round of _Holo Shooter_. I think you'll enjoy it."

  _Holo Shooter_ was a fairly straight-forward game: Try to score on an opponent(s) by shooting a mini, holographic disc across the board to gain points. A single match could be played between two or even four players, or even two-on-two. A single player would earn a pair of points for each goal scored. The score level could also be set to reach a certain number of points. There was no limit to the number of rounds played. Clarke quickly found the game to be fun, but almost addicting. She had played her first four-way round with Echo, and two other students: _Oric_ , a male member of the Nautolans, a green-skinned aquatic species, as well as _Ontari_ \- a female member of the humanoid Devaronian species. Ontari seemed to be particularly competitive when it came to _Holo Shooter_.  Clarke found her first game to be the most fun. She also discovered that playing a four-way match was more competitive than a simple two-way match. That was how Clarke spent a portion of the afternoon. Following that round, Clarke took some time to watch four Sullustan students engage in a wild four-way round. The whole time they yammered to each other in their native dialect. Clarke and Echo then left the student centre to make their way over to the residential hall where Echo was living.

"You've signed up for an afternoon fitness class?" Clarke asked with some surprise.

"Not as part of my regular class schedule," Echo told her as they went. "The class will be held one afternoon per-week in the recreational centre. You should consider, Clarke."

  Clarke figured that attending a fitness class wouldn't hurt. She figured she may as well try and sign up for something away from her regular classes.

"That isn't a bad idea," Clarke agreed. "I'll have to get my class schedule sorted out first before I can fit in any time for a fitness class."

  Echo looked to have already settled into her own dorm room. That was what Clarke discovered, once they were inside Echo's dorm room on the third floor. The way the Twi'Lek had arranged her room, it gave off something of an exotic appearance, and Clarke was impressed with what she saw. The room carried a pleasant flagrance.

"Well at least you've set up shop," Clarke said, making a light remark. "I haven't done anything, seeing as I slept for two days straight."

"In a sense, it reflects my style back home," Echo said as she shifted through some of her clothes. "I assume it's the same with you?"

"It will be-once I get organized," Clarke said as she admired a pair of incense burners placed on the window sill. Both were of intricate hand-made design, likely of Twi'Lek culture. "Sometimes procrastination can be a killer."

  As she turned back to face Echo, she was about to ask about the following day's schedule for Orientation, only her question became jammed in her throat. While Clarke briefly had her back turned, the Twi'Lek had already removed her top. Clarke stood where she was, almost shell-shocked, with her mouth hanging half-open as her gaze homed in on Echo's bare breasts like a heat-seeking missiles. Clarke was feeling a strange prickle on the back of her neck and she didn't know whether to feel awkward or embarrassed. Worst of all, she was scavenging her brain for something-anything to say to keep the atmosphere appearing normal.

"Have you decided if you're going to enrol in a Huttese class?" Echo then asked casually, without so much as a concern. The Twi'Lek had not yet put on a new top. Echo faced Clarke as she folded the shirt she had been wearing, allowing Clarke a full view of her grapefruit-sized, pallid breasts. Even so, Echo looked unbelievably stunning. That was Clarke's thought in the back of her mind, but it didn't quite register.

"Oh-yeah-definitely." Clarke somehow found her words again. "I plan to enrol. May as well."

   She was relieved when Echo finally pulled on a fresh, long-sleeved melon-green top. Even so, the Twi'Lek's cleavage still pushed tightly against the fabric from underneath. Clarke was fiercely debating whether to say something first or let Echo do it, if she bothered to. Clarke began to feel as though she wanted to make some compliment to the Twi'Lek, but then again, she wondered if it would seem weird.

"Clarke, I didn't make you uncomfortable, did I?" Echo then raised the question.

 _Shit._ Clarke took in a breath and exhaled slowly. "No," She assured Echo, trying to maintain a steady tone and an appearance of indifference. She still felt that prickle of awkwardness. "Not all."

"You don't need to worry, Clarke," Echo assured her. "You could be fully unclothed in front of me and I wouldn't be bothered in the least. Besides, if you intend to sign up for a fitness class...."

"I get it! I get it!" Clarke insisted quickly with as she felt a fresh tide of awkwardness pushing up on her again. She just about placed her hands over both her ears. She just wanted the discussion to end.

  Echo only chuckled. Once she had turned away, Clarke gave her eyes a sharp roll and produced a silent sigh of disbelief.

"Would you like to go see what the recreational centre is like afterwards?" Echo asked pleasantly, changing topics.

"Sure." Clarke nodded. "Did you want to head over together?"

"I will need to do a few things first before I'm ready," Echo told her. "Why don't you wait for me down in the lobby? I'll be down shortly."

"Sounds good." Clarke agreed, feeling better.

  Even after leaving Echo's dorm room, Clarke still had the sight of Echo's exposed breasts freshly in her mind.

 _I wonder what she would think of mine?_ Clarke then wondered as casually as if deciding on what to order for her next meal.

 _Goddamnit!_ Clarke wanted to kick herself in annoyance as she made her way down the hall. _Don't even go there, Clarke._ The last thing that she wanted was to be having repeated sexual thoughts about a female friend of a non-human species.

 Turning a corner to make her way to the elevator, she encountered four students, both human males, idling in the hallway. They were standing together and they looked to be admiring something that one of their friends was showing off to them. To Clarke's resentment, they all looked like they came from the same homeworld. _  
_

"Excuse me." Clarke requested, trying not to sound irritable.

  The group parted for her to pass.

“Hey-take a look at this.” One of the boys, sandy-haired and standing a foot taller than Clarke, stepped forward and produced a long silvery cylinder that looked like the hilt to some weapon.  
  
 Clarke stopped and she stared at the object when she saw that there was something very familiar about its design. “Wait. Isn’t that a...?”  
  
The boy grinned to her. “The hilt to a lightsaber.” He said proudly.

"Yeah, and Zak is showing it off," One of his dark-haired friends said with a roll of his eyes. "We'll see how long it is before it gets confiscated."  
  
Clarke stared at the boy named Zak, astounded. “You brought an actual _lightsaber_ onto campus?”  
  
“Relax. Of course it’s not an _active_ lightsaber!" Zak assured her in a lazy-sounding tone. "The kyber crystal was removed long ago." He tapped the handle. "I purchased this at a sale back home.”

  _A sale back home._ Clarke thought. _That's lucky. Something like this would never be found at any auction back on Mars._  
  
“So that’s supposed to be real?” Clarke asked with some skepticism, still staring at the intricate hilt in Zak's hands.  
  
“This is as real as they come. Here.” Zak held out the lightsaber hilt in his hand.  
  
  Clarke carefully took the lightsaber in her hand, fearing that she might accidentally ignite the energy blade, but according to Zak, there was no kyber crystal inside the hilt. The hilt felt heavy and cool and she could hardly fathom that she was holding the hilt to an actual lightsaber.

"Who did this even belong to?" She asked as she handed back to the hilt to Zak.  
  
“Who knows?" Zak said with a shrug. "It could have belonged to an ancient Jedi Master, for all any of us know.”  
  
 Clarke shook her head. While she knew almost nothing about lightsabers, she did say, “It looks too plain to have belonged to a  Jedi Master.”  She then decided she was done with this conversation. "I'll see you guys around." With that, she moved on her way as Zak and his three friends resumed their conversation.

  _Unbelievable,_ She thought as she descended in the elevator to the main level.  _I guess I'm_ _still adapting to the great wide galaxy._

  The elevator chimed and the doors slid open. As Clarke stepped off of the transport as the doors opened, she nearly walked right into someone who had been waiting for the elevator. Clarke nearly had to skid to a halt to keep from bumping right into the girl. The girl, who Clarke had never seen before, looked to be around the same age as her. As far as Clarke could tell, the girl appeared physically to be baseline human, with creamy skin and pale eyes. The girl's long, brunette-coloured hair was worn in an intricate style of braids that Clarke thought was superior to that of her own blonde hair that she let flow freely and plainly down her shoulders.

"Sorry," Clarke apologized, as she stepped aside the girl. That was all she said before she moved on her way.

  As Clarke went, she threw a quick look back over her shoulder to the elevator. She caught a quick glimpse of the strange girl standing in the elevator just as the doors were closing. The girl was, or appeared to be watching her through her pale-looking eyes. Clarke didn't interpret the girl's expression but there was definitely something very attractive-looking about the girl.

\------

  Clarke spent the evening in her own dorm room unpacking and organizing her things to get herself settled in. She was relieved to have received a holo-transmission from her mother Abby from back home. Clarke felt like it had been ages since she had last heard her mother's voice and seen her face in a recorded holo transmission. As expected, Abby was checking in to see how Clarke was settling onto campus, if she had settled in, if she had eaten, if there were any issues, reporting on how things were back home, and of course, round after round of questions for Clarke about campus life. Clarke may have spent the last hour recording a new transmission to send home as she eagerly filled her mother in on everything- from meeting Echo, meeting students of different species and different walks of life, the meals that were served on campus, her dorm room, her class schedule, and host of other subjects. After nearly an hour had passed, Clarke sent off the transmission.

 _I can't wait for mom to hear all this,_ Clarke thought.

While other students were probably socializing in one way or another, Clarke was all ready to settle in for the night, even after sleeping for two days. She doubted there would be any lights-out announcement. No one she had met thus far had ever made any mention of there being a lights-out call in the dorm halls. Clarke thought it would be ludicrous if there was one. By now she had showered and changed for bed and now she sat cross-legged on her bed with her datapad open. Earlier in the day, she and Echo had arranged to meet up the following morning when they attended Orientation. As well, Clarke had gone over her class schedule. Since she had already selected her classes, she could decide on the available time periods for her classes that she could chose from. Clarke was able to avoid having to schedule any early morning classes. Most of them would be scheduled from mid-morning to mid-afternoon.

Looking out her window, Clarke saw that the evening sky had turned a shade of dark blue.

 _I'll bet Cloud City looks amazing at night,_ She thought, hoping to catch an evening away from campus to see the city.

  Clarke then crawled into bed and shut off her bed-side light. Laying and listening to the silence, she half-expected to hear the muffled sounds from a group of rowdy students running past her room from out in the hall.

 _Do people even throw dorm parties here?_ She wondered. Of course, she knew that back home, dorm parties involving drinking and forms of behaviour, would have all been apart of campus life.

 For a moment, Clarke toyed with the idea of throwing a party.

 _Maybe Echo and I could plan something out,_ She thought.

 It was when she thought of Echo, her brief thoughts of throwing a party morphed into the image the Twi'Lek standing topless in front of her. Clarke still had a clear mental image of Echo's perfect breasts. Realizing where her thoughts had ended up, she sat up sharply in bed. Her nipples had become erect underneath her pink tank-top. That had to have been a first.

 _There is no way I'm being turned on by a female Twi'Lek!_ Clarke said firmly to herself.

 Only this affirmation left her feeling more confused. Was she actually feeling some sort of attraction towards Echo, or was this something else? This had not been the first instance, she knew.

Clarke gave a long sigh. She lay back down and waited for her nipples to soften again as she focused her thoughts elsewhere. She sat up again when she suddenly felt the need to quench her thirst. She hadn't yet stocked up in the small refridgerator in her dorm. She then remembered that there was a vending machine down in the lobby. Clarke sighed again and wondered if it was worth going down to the lobby to buy a beverage.

 _Screw it._ Clarke decided.

 She reached over and clicked on her bed-side light and then climbed out of bed. She had made up her mind and decided to take a quick trip down to the lobby. She didn't even bother to make herself look presentable, figuring that by this hour most students would be back in their dorms. She had left her dorm room wearing sandals, and her night-wear- a pair of white pajama bottoms, and a loose black tank-top. She didn't pass anyone in the hallway. Even if she had, she wouldn't care what anyone thought of how she looked, or if her cleavage was half exposed. As Clarke expected, the lit lobby was deserted when she stepped off the elevator, save for the security droid stationed behind the control-panel desk who paid no mind to her presence. The droid, of course, probably wouldn't care about her preference of dress.

 After buying a can of coca-cola from the vending machine, Clarke was on her way back up to her floor. Making her way down the hall back to her dorm room,  Clarke stopped suddenly when she heard muffled sounds coming from one of the dorm rooms that she had passed. A barrage of loud moaning cries belong to a female voice- and by the sound of it, belonged to a human. At least Clarke hoped it was human, since she still had no idea who lived on the same floor as her. Clarke quickly moved on when it became obvious what she was hearing.

 _Someone doesn't waste any time-and classes haven't even started yet!_ She thought.

\------

  Clarke had another decent night's sleep and made sure to set her alarm for the next morning. While it wasn't yet the first day of classes, she wanted to be sure that she was awake and alert for Orientation- whatever it might entail. Before heading out of her room, she quickly inspected herself in the mirror. She had decided to wear dark jeans and light denim jacket over a grey top. She looked presentable enough, but then again, no one had said anything about a dress-code for Orientation. Checking her datapad, Orientation wasn't scheduled to begin for another two hours. Clarke had determined how to get to the Student Faculty Hall and figured she could grab something over in the student centre first. The quad grounds were pleasant-looking under the morning sunlight that reached across the camps grounds. Even as early as it was, Clarke occasionally saw pairs of students walking the paths, likely heading for the student centre as well.

 Because it was still early in the morning, the student centre was relatively quiet when Clarke got there. Only a few of the tables across the entire eating area were occupied by lone students, pairs, or groups of three, who had up met up early to grab a coffee or a morning meal. Clarke took a quick look across the sparse eating area, but she saw no one that she recognized. The food service counter was not yet open, but she could already see the service droids moving about behind the counter as they prepared to open for the day.

 _Well at least the coffee and beverage machines are up and running,_ Clarke thought.

 Deciding to skip on coffee, she ordered a cup of hot chocolate from the machine. Clarke figured there wouldn't be much sense in hanging around the Student Centre to kill time, as all incoming first year students would be headed to the Faculty Hall for Orientation. Once she was back outside and on her way over to the Faculty Hall, the sun had already risen higher into the bright blue morning sky. Clarke entered the Faculty Hall's extensive main foyer- white marbled floor and walls, and floor to ceiling windows that allowed the sunlight to pour into the hall and produce a welcoming atmosphere. It had to be the most modern establishment that she had ever set foot in. Looking up, Clarke realized that there were two levels of the Faculty Hall. The main level appeared to be more of a lobby. She saw that there were other students, presumably those attending Orientation, who had already arrived. Some had found available seats, while others hung around next the windows that looked out at the campus grounds.

 All Clarke could do now was find a spot to sit and wait patiently. Another hour passed and the main level grew busy as more students streamed into the Faculty Hall's foyer. Clarke had sat and observed the students. There was a good blend of humans and non-humans. She wondered which of them would become her future classmates, friends, or acquaintances. Clarke was keeping an eye out for Echo. She had not yet spotted the Twi'Lek anywhere, but she wasn't worried. There came a point when Clarke saw that people were now beginning to disperse from the lobby area and move off in the same direction. That immediately signalled to Clarke that they were all headed for wherever the Orientation was being held. All she had to do was follow where everyone else was headed- out of the lobby area and into another wing of the Foyer.

 Making her way among a stream of other students, Clarke began to sense that the Orientation was going to be held inside a lecture hall, or at least a room large enough to accommodate hundreds of incoming students. She might have been correct. Everyone ahead of her were all entering through a doorway on the right.

"Clarke!" Clarke heard a familiar voice call out to her from behind. It was Echo.

"There you are!" Clarke was more than relieved to see the Twi'Lek hurrying to catch up with her.

“So what did you do last night?” Echo asked her pleasantly. 

 Clarke shrugged. “Nothing really. Just chilled. Unpacked and prepped my schedule. She shook her head with a chuckle. “At one point I went downstairs to grab a soda from the vending machine. On my way back to my room, I’m pretty sure I heard two people going at it from in one of the other rooms.” 

  Echo gave her a funny look. “What do you mean when you say ‘going at it’?"

“Uh….” Clarke quickly tried to assemble the right definition for the Twi'Lek. “As in... doing it. A romp in the sheets. You know…? "

  Echo gave a nod. “Of course I know, Clarke. You mean to say you that heard the sound of two people engaging in some sexual activity. What kind?"

 Clarke became slightly exasperated at the question. “Oh my god, Echo! It’s not like I went and knocked on their door to find out!”

  She briefly floated the question through her mind as to how familiar, if it all, the Twi’Lek was with sexual activity between humans.  She and Echo then entered into the Orientation hall from the front of the room. Clarke found that she was correct about the Orientation being held inside a lecture hall- not a room that was dimly lit like that of an auditorium, but the exact opposite- white walls, grey carpeting, and windows near to the ceiling to allow daylight to filter in. The hall itself was elevated. There was a low platform stage at the front of the room beside the main entrance. To the side of the platform, a droid-model, one possibly programmed for educational assistance, already stood behind the computer place on a raised to table.

 Entering into the hall, Clarke saw that the room already appeared to be half-full. There would be hundreds of incoming first-year students in attendance. She felt slightly intimidated at the number of eyes in her direction. There were mostly humans, she noted, and many of them probably shared a same home-world. Being the only human on the entire campus hailing from the Earth System, Clarke was once more left feeling slightly outlandish.

 She and Echo found some available seats mid-way towards the rear of the hall. As Clarke prepared to seat herself, she noticed a pair of girls enter into the hall at the front of the room. She recognized one of them- Costia, the dark-haired human girl from Trigeda. The second girl accompanying Costia, Clarke happened recognize as the same girl who she had nearly run into the day before as she was stepping off the elevator. She assumed that this was Costia's friend. The girl kept her wavy long light brown hair loose and draped over her right shoulder.

 _She’s really pretty_ , Clarke thought with admiration.

 Costia and her friend had picked out their seats towards the front of the room, at least eight rows down from where Clarke and Echo were seated. Just as the girl was about to seat herself, her gaze drifted upwards. For a split moment, she appeared to make eye contact with Clarke. Clarke didn’t think much of it, although she did wonder if the girl happened to recognize her from the day before. The girl then took her seat next to Costia.

 Once Clarke had seated herself, she took a quick look to check out everyone seated around her and she tried to get an idea of her future-classmates, friends, and accquaintences.

"Costia is here," Clarke mentioned to Echo. "She and her friend are sitting down by the front."

  Echo craned her neck to get a look over the heads of students seated ahead.

"I think her friend also lives in your building," Clarke said to Echo. "I'm pretty sure I passed her as I was getting off the elevator on the main floor yesterday."

 Echo gave a shrug. "If she is, she doesn't live on my floor. I'm sure Costia would have mentioned that. I've already met a few residents who live on the same floor as me. Have you become familiar with anyone in you dorm hall yet?"

"I met a girl from the Tattooine System on our first day on campus," Clarke told her. "Emori Sandfire- she's a second year student. We spoke briefly on the elevator, but that was about it. Oh- and I also met a T-16 enthusiast in the elevator- this other guy from Tattooine who has this creepy thing about crashing and burning into the side of a canyon wall."

 Echo was humoured by this. "Well I suppose that doesn't quite compare to the other day when an idiot on my floor yelled 'heads up!' and tossed a fake Thermal Detonator down the hall for a thrill."

 Clarke was shocked for a moment and wondered if the faculty had any rules in place for pranks like that. "Back home in secondary school, doing something like that would get you suspended-if not expelled."

 The buzz of voices inside the lecture hall hushed when a pair of individuals suddenly walked onto the platform at the front of the room. The first was a dark-skinned human male in his mid-to-late forties. He wore elaborate black and purple garbs. He carried himself with a sense of dignity and authority. He was followed by a younger, and presumably human female with a slender build and a slight tone to her skin. She looked to be in her mid-to-late thirties. Her long, coal-black hair was swept to the side over her right shoulder. She wore a crimson-red dress with sleeves. Her black high-heeled shoes clicked loudly against the floor of the platform as she walked.

 Stopping in the centre of the platform, the man faced the hundreds of assembled students and he began his address. "Good morning and allow me to begin by saying to each and every one of you- welcome to your first year as students of the Cloud City University Campus, I am Doctor Thelonius Jaha, the head dean of this faculty." His deep and reassuring voice carried up to the back of the hall. He turned towards the woman standing next to him. "As well, I would like to introduce our assistant faculty dean, Dr. Alie Colight."

 Thelonious Jaha smiled as he warmed into his address to the students. "I trust that all of you are settling in comfortably and will be prepared for your first day of classes. I realize that many of you hail from distant star systems, come from different backgrounds, and walks of life. That diversity is a key element of our institution." 

 Dr. Jaha tapped himself gently with his hand. "I myself, hail from the Socorro System." He turned towards the assistant dean in the red dress. "Our assistant dean Dr. Colight hails from the planet Cerra in the Franco Sector." He continued on. "Our purpose here today will be to bring you further insight on one of our most esteemed academic institutions in the Western Reaches. There are, of course, rules, regulations, and guidelines, that all students, regardless of their year, will be required to abide by and we will be addressing those today."

 Dr. Jaha smiled as he motioned lightly to the assistant dean, Alie Colight. "Dr. Colight, on the other hand, will be not be intending to bore you, as I might!"

  His joke brought a light round of laughter from the assembled students.

"Dr. Colight will be addressing other aspects of our campus," Thelonious went on. "At Cloud City University, we pride ourselves on our academic curriculum. However, one of our aims is also to ensure that our students, especially incoming first year students such as yourselves, do not become too immersed in their studies. When Dr. Colight's turn comes to speaking, she will be speaking about on the various activities on campus, such as sports and extracurricular that students are free to participate in, in order to refresh their minds."

 Dr. Jaha produced a promising smile. "I should add that participation in certain campus activities, especially more than one, will also be counted towards your final grade score at term's end."

  This revelation drew an excited murmur from the assembled students.

 Holding his pleased smile at the reaction he drew, Dr. Jaha folded his hands together as the hall became quiet again. "But first, I will start from the beginning."

 The lights in the hall dimmed slightly. The assistant droid standing behind the computer to the side of the platform pulled up a large rotating blue hologram on the projector. The head dean began to speak about the history of Cloud City University, its mission, and values. As Clarke listened, she had already began to take a liking to Dr. Theloneous Jaha. The assistant dean, Dr. Alie Colight, was more of a mystery. While Dr. Jaha spoke, Clarke had found herself observing Dr. Colight's body language. Dr. Colight appeared to stand almost stiffly, her hands folded together, and her frozen expression never seemed to change. Something about the way the assistant dean's gaze scanned about the assembled students, made her seem less human. Clarke then took into the possibility that Dr. Colight might not even be baseline human.

 "...now if all of you have your datapads available, please open them," Dr. Jaha was instructing. "There are some key notes that I advise you all to take down."

 When it was Dr. Alie Colight's turn to address the students almost a half-hour into the Orientation, she had a husky voice and every syllable that she spoke was clear. Clarke still didn't know what to make of Dr. Colight. At one point Clarke had been holding her own datapad upright on her desk, somehow the device accidentally slipped and it made a loud clattering sound on the tabletop. The sound had magnified enough and had caused a few students seated ahead of her to look over once. Dr. Jaha had not been interrupted from speaking, but to Clarke's discomfort, the sound seemed to have drawn the attention of Dr. Colight. Standing where she was on the platform, the assistant dean looked as if she had been able to pinpoint the source of the sound and pick out Clarke from among the students.

"....please do not hesitate to approach either myself or Dr. Colight." Dr. Jaha was now preparing to conclude his address the first year students after nearly two hours of Orientation. "Our offices will always be ope. As well, we will both be walking the campus in the days and weeks ahead. Most importantly, we are here to answer your inquiries and address any concerns that you may have. "

  _I think I would rather go to Dr. Jaha,_ Clarke decided to herself. There was definitely something odd about the assistant dean.

 Orientation finally came to an end as the students gathered their things and prepared to exit the lecture hall.

"Well I can admit, I feel I have taken a liking to Dr. Jaha," Echo commented as she and Clarke had stood up from their seats.

 Clarke had to agree. "What do you think of Dr. Colight?" She asked as she slung her handbag over her shoulder.

 Echo gave a shrug. "A bit unusual," She admitted.

"A bit?" Clarke repeated. "The way she presented herself, I'm not sure she is even fully human."

"She might not be," Echo cautioned her. "There are many species and sub-species in the galaxy that are closely related biologically to baseline humans. The Cerrans might be of one of those species." She then kidded, "You should inquire."

 Clarke just shook her head. She wasn't feeling exactly keen on approaching Dr. Colight to ask about what category her species fell under. She recalled _Cerra_ being the name of the planet that Dr. Colight supposedly came from. On the other hand, Clarke saw that a cluster of students had already gathered on the platform to meet and speak briefly with both Dr. Jaha and Dr. Colight. What was it Dr. Jaha had said? That he would be around campus in the coming days? That would have been a good opportunity to meet and introduce herself.

  _Just don't be one of those suck-ups,_ Clarke told herself.

"Echo, where are you headed right now?" Clarke wanted to know.

"The Student Centre," Echo answered. "I don't have anything on my schedule yet. We'll get something to eat and then we'll play a round of _Holo Shooter_."

  _Holo Shooter,_ Clarke thought with some amusement. _Here we go again._

As she and Echo made their way down the steps with the flow of students towards the exit, Clarke caught sight of Costia and her friend- the one Clarke had passed while stepping off the elevator the day before. She caught a glimpse of the girl's smile. It had to have been the most beautiful smile Clarke had ever seen on any human girl, and for a moment, she felt captivated by it. She suddenly felt a bubbling desire to meet the girl. Clarke then regretted not taking up the opportunity the day before when she almost ran into the girl while getting off the elevator. She wasn't worried though. She would be ready to take up the next given opportunity. _  
_

\-------

   Clarke clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth in disappointment. It was the midday following the two-hour Orientation. Clarke and Echo had gone over to the Student Centre to order a meal and then to play a few rounds of _Holo Shooter_. Clarke had already concluded that this would become a regular routine for her. The Student Centre, of course, had become busy by midday. The eating area was busy and the recreational area was active with all six _Holo Shooter_ tables occupied. This made the recreational area sound all the more noisy with the sounds coming from the other Holo Shooter tables and their enthusiasts. Periodically Clarke had looked around, hoping to catch sight of Costia, and namely her friend. In her latest _Holo Shooter_ match, Clarke had played a one-on-one match against a Devaronian named Ontari and came up short this time- two hundred points less of draw.

 "Fifteen hundred points reached!" Ontari announced proudly.

"How do you do it?" Clarke asked, shaking her head.

  The Devaronian girl only smiled. "We Devaronians have passion for playing _Holo Shooter._ "

 Clarke studied Ontari for a moment. Clarke had learned that the Devaronian girl, also a first-year student, had came all the way from the Colonies region of the inner galaxy where the homeworld of her species was located. As a member of the Devaronian species, Ontari appeared physically-human in some ways, only she had a light reddish skin-tone and brown eyes. Her long, dark purple hair was pinned back and flowed down past her shoulders. Clarke had also learned that the Devaronian females were hornless, with small vestigial bumps on their foreheads. The one feature that really stood out was Ontari's set of pointed teeth. The Devaronian males, according to Echo, actually sported horns and their physical appearance resembled the devils of a thousand different myths. Clarke had yet to encounter a male member of the Devaronian species and she couldn't recall seeing one while transferring at Terminus Station.

"Another round?" Ontari suggested teasingly.

  Clarke took a second to decide. "I'll pass on this one. Maybe I'll join in a four-way match later."

"I'll take this next round, Clarke," Echo offered.

 Clarke nodded. "You do that. I'm going to go grab a drink. I'll be right back."

  As she left to and make her way over to the food service counter, she looked back over her shoulder when she heard a loud clap of cheering erupt from the recreational area. She didn't even have to guess that it came from one of the Holo Shooter tables.

 _Sounds like someone came off with a win,_ Clarke thought, judging from the sound. She wondered if she would become a full-fledged Holo Shooter enthusiast by the time her first term had come to an end.

 As she had turned her attention away from the clamour coming from the recreational area, Clarke practically skidded to a halt when she saw the friend of Costia. The girl also stopped when she saw Clarke. Clarke had privately hoped to run in to the girl again somewhere around campus, but at the same time, seeing her in the Student Centre so soon came to her as completely unexpected. Clarke didn't see Costia anywhere. She was struck by how radiant the girl's beauty was- she was an inch or two taller than Clarke, with a slim figure, vanilla-skin, and pale green eyes. Her long, light brown hair hung freely and slung over her right shoulder.  Clarke didn't want to stand and stare at the girl for another second longer without seeming like a weirdo. She mustered up the courage and approached the girl. The girl had a flowery fragrance surrounding her.

"It's you...I mean- you're Costia's friend..aren't you?" Clarke asked the girl, keeping a steady voice.

 The girl studied her for a moment and recognition flickered in her pale green eyes. "It's you who Costia had been telling me about," She said, speaking in fluent Basic. Her voice came as soft, but not as shy or unpleasant-sounding. "Yes, Costia and I are close friends. We come from the same home-world. "I see you have already met her. She told me as much that she met a girl from a distant star system-as well as a Twi'Lek."

"We met Costia at the station- just after landing at Cloud City," Clarke explained. "Echo and I met while transferring flights back at Terminus." She then switched points. "Listen, I thought I would to apologize for almost running into you yesterday. You know-while getting off the elevator."

 The girl shook her head and then smiled. "There is no need for you to apologize. You did no harm."

 Clarke nodded. “I’m Clarke, by the way,” She said, introducing herself. “I come from the Earth System-just not from Earth, from Mars-the fourth planet outward.” She realized she had spoken a bit too quickly, but it was her nerves getting the best of her because she was finally speaking face to face with the girl that she had become intrigued by.

 Something in the girl's smile gave off something alluring. “It’s a pleasure to meet you then, Clarke of Mars. My name is Lexa. Lexa of Trigeda.”

 

**End of Chapter 7**

**(Will be continued)**


End file.
